Ever
wondered why you never fully attain you potential in life? I see you have a
direct answer right; you blame it on others, missed opportunities and all other
forms of excuse in the book.
The
answer to this question is that we need to take responsibility for our own
failures but do not fear, cos the Holy Spirit really does enable us to maximize
our strengths and minimize our weakness so that we can become that active
person in the body of Christ.
So recently I've been
reading and meditating on a particular eye-opening spiritual book titled: Spirit-Controlled
Temperament by Tim Lahaye
You've
really got to check it out. I'd give it a 5 star rating. Moving on before I
lose track of how essential this topic is to you, well it blessed me so
hopefully it blesses you too.
Yes
be rest assured that our temperaments can either make or break us both
physically and spiritually so read on.
According
to the book, there are 4 basic temperaments which we all exhibit but some are
more predominant in us than others and in reality we are a combination of at
least two of these temperaments (I won't dwell too much on each temperament but
will focus on 2 major ones:
1. Sanguine - they are warm, lively
and fun loving, e.g. apostle Peter
2. Choleric - hot tempered and
active e.g. apostle Paul
3. Melancholy - perfectionist type,
self sacrificing and anger e.g. Moses
4. Phlegmatic - calm and easygoing e.g.
Abraham
Let's
use a MelChlor as an example and yes "I'm active but
still find it hard to overcome anger". Remember it was because of Moses's anger (yes
the Israelites rebelled and out of anger he destroyed the first stone
tablets with the 10 commandments written on them) that He only saw the
promise land from afar but never got to enter the place.....if you don't
believe me check out Deuteronomy
1:37 -38.....Because of you the Lord became angry with me also
and said, “You shall not enter it, either. But your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will enter
it.
The
main reasons why we never fully attain our potentials are hidden within
weaknesses of our temperament:
1.
Strengths of a typical MelChlor: sensitive,
perfectionist, self-sacrificing, strong-willed, leader and so on
2.
Weaknesses: self-centered, pessimistic, hot tempered, moody, revengeful and impetuous.
A
typical MelChlor can be very paranoid and
think people are always talking about him/her and they have that proud
"self-sufficient" attitude where they believe that "it's all by
their might” that they have succeeded in everything they lay their hands upon
without ever acknowledging the "Supremacy" of God.
They
believe it's all about them and when things do go wrong they suddenly go into
that "self-pity/depression mode" asking "why me?”
MelChlors have to remember, In all things, give
thanks....I
Thessalonians 5:18.
This
"self-centered" attitude makes MelChlors selfish and love others
less because they spend too much time focusing on themselves alone. Note
"LOVE" seems to be absent in most Christian churches today.
When
it comes to marriage they tend to have a difficult time taking the "fatal
plunge" because they like to daydream or "idealize a potential"
spouse but they soon recede because the weaknesses of the other person plays
out to much for them, because yes MelChlors are very judgmental,
they analyze and dissect unnecessary information/issue to a point where it no
longer makes a valid point.
It's
only when truly filled with the Holy Spirit that a MelChlor fully achieves a level
of spiritual boldness in Christ to become a very confident and active member of
the body of Christ.
People
with this particular blend of temperaments rarely live up to their amazing
potential, because of their "internalized spirit of anger and
revenge". They rarely forgive. For example there's no mistaking that
Apostle Paul was a MelChlor, He initially sought to
persecute all Christians even to the point of their death but upon being
visited by Christ Himself, he became a fantastic, self-sacrificing preacher who
worn so many souls to God and while being in prison was still able to preach
the gospel.
So
if you know that you are called to be a leader of a fellowship, head of a
family and so on...you'll have to dig deeper with the help of the Holy Spirit
in order for you to prevent division within your fellowship group and the breakup
of your family.
Watch
out for Part 2, Where I'll tell you how the Holy Spirit can help transform you
no matter the circumstance or temperament and make you a BONAFIDE child of
God...........
"Our
Circumstances DO NOT Have To Determine Our Reactions" ~ Tim Lahaye.