Polly Phlegmatic - Counsel

There are many Polly Phlegmatics in our group of friends across the country, but very few of them will ever seek help even when they recognize they have a problem.  There is one Polly in particular that comes to my mind.  She was just about as fearful and introverted as any phlegmatic I have ever known.  On the surface her friends were never aware that she had this turmoil going on inside, for she presented herself to others as a very calm, self-confident, and capable person.  But one day she seemed to come unglued and confessed to me that what she represented on the outside was not at all what was taking place on the inside.  (Even phlegmatics have their breaking points.)

She confessed how fearful she was of other people and how inadequate she thought she was. When asked to serve on a board in the church, she refused with a flimsy excuse.  And when other leadership and ministry opportunities arose, she repeatedly responded the same way.  It was then that she began to realize that she was cheating herself of many opportunities to serve Christ by her fear and indifference.  Her children and husband were all active in the ministry of their church, but she was the one on the outside -- uninvolved, indifferent, and supernegative.  Finally, this began to show in her mental attitude toward her family and the church until, on one particular day, this dear lady faced the reality that she was being left in the dust spiritually as a result of her fear and selfishness.  I read  2 Timothy 1:7 to her from my Bible.  "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  She then genuinely confessed her sin to Christ and prayed to be filled with the Holy Spirit, asking God to do a beautiful thing in her life.  She desired not just to be involved int he ministry of her church, but also to be a warm, loving, motivated, godly woman who was freed from the fears that bound her within.

I have watched this Polly turn from a woman paralyzed by her own fears to a beautiful example of the Spirit-filled woman.  Her husband and children are pleased and proud of the new lady at their house.  It has been like watching a rosebud open into full maturity as a beautiful, sweet-smelling flower, bringing joy and leaving a fragrance with all those who come in contact with her.

The Spirit-Controlled Woman by Beverly LaHaye   Get your copy today!

Polly Phlegmatic - Greatest NEEDS

The greatest needs of Polly Phlegmatic for spiritual growth ---

1.  To overcome her passivity.

2.  To learn to give of herself to others.

3.  To stop acting like a Christian and begin trusting God for everything.

4.  To recognize her fearfulness as sin and give it over to God.

5.  Walk day by day in the control of the Holy Spirit.

6.  Replace her natural fears with faith in our living Lord, which will enable her to take on the projects she would otherwise quickly decline, thus limiting herself by unbelief.

The complacent, peaceful Polly Phlegmatic is probably the easiest to be around because of her easygoing and well-balanced nature.  But she usually holds everyone at arm's length and protects herself from getting too involved with people or work.  Her greatest need is to recognize her fear, which is not of God, definitely limits her effectiveness for Christ.  She needs to treat her indolence as a sin; then, through Jesus Christ, Polly will be able to give of herself to others.  Polly is quite a capable person when she is willing to let go of herself and let God take control.

Martha Melancholy - Greatest NEEDS

1.  To overcome her critical spirit.

2.  To be delivered from self-absorption.

3.  To become occupied in loving service for others, thus forgetting herself.

4.  To develop a thankful spirit.

5.  To walk in the Spirit on a daily basis.

6.  To develop the mental habit of thanksgiving living -- "in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Martha Melancholy has other lesser needs, but nothing will transform her life as greatly as changes in these six.  As she yields to the Holy Spirit in these areas, God will use her to the maximum and she will like herself much better --and so will her loved ones.

The self-sacrificing, thinking Martha Melancholy is probably the most gifted of all the temperaments.  and yet, because of her self-centeredness, her critical spirit, and her gloom, she suffers more than any of the others and limits her ability to use her talents and gifts.  It is only when her heart and mind are controlled by the Holy Spirit that the melancholy can forget herself and her critical spirit and become a genuine Christian who helps those around her with a tender and sensitive nature.  She can develop a thanksgiving heart that will become a pattern of living for her.  Only then will she find fulfillment, peace, and satisfaction in Christ.

Meet Sarah Sanguine - Part 3

The two things most needed by Sarah Sanguine are to...

1. Seek to walk in the Spirit on a day-by-day basis to bring discipline, order, and purposeful living into her life.

2. Gain victory and control over her volatile emotions, particularly her outbursts of anger.


The following are some of the characteristics unique to Sarah Sanguine and how the weaknesses of the temperament can be modified when controlled by the Holy Spirit.

Strengths of Sarah Sanguine's
emotions ---
Warm and lively
Charismatic
Talkative - never at a loss for words
Carefree - never worries about the future or frets about the past
Compassionate toward others
Great storyteller
Lives in present
Infectious conversationalist
Unusual capacity for enjoyment

emotional weaknesses ---
Cries easily
Emotionally unpredictable
Restless
Spontaneous outbursts of anger
Exaggerates the truth
Appears phony
Lacks self-control
Emotional decisions; impulsive buyer
Naive and childlike
Comes on too strong

Sarah Sanguine is a very emotional gal. She is never very far from tears and is usually emotionally unstable. However, the Holy Spirit can stabilize her emotions and calm her restless spirit. With God's help she can develop self-control and a disciplined life.

relationship strengths ---
Makes friends easily
Responsive to people
Enjoyable and optimistic
Always friendly and smiling
Apologizes easily
Tender and sympathetic
Converses with genuine warmth
Shares other people's joys and sorrows

relationship weaknesses ---
Dominates conversation
Not attentive
Weak-willed and has little conviction
Seeks credit and approval
Enjoys people and then forgets them
Makes excuses for negligence
Talks too often about herself
Forgets promises and obligations

Sarah will become a genuine friend and show more interest and concern with the lives of other people than the other temperaments. Her attention on herself will have to be minimized to be a Spirit-filled sanguine.

actions strengths ---
Makes good first impression
Not bored because she lives in the present
Gifted in caring for the sick
Easily engages in new plans or projects
Breeds enthusiasm

actions weaknesses ---
Completely disorganized
Undependable; late
Undisciplined
Wastes time talking when should be working
Many unfinished projects
Easily distracted
Falls short of goal

Unfinished projects and disorganization should become a thing of the past as she matures in her Christian life. With the help of the Holy Spirit, Sarah Sanguine will certainly become a more productive person.

The greatest needs of Sarah Sanguine for spiritual growth ---

1) To be more reliable and dependable.
2) To develop a greater self-disciplined life.
3) To replace her ego with genuine humility.

The Spirit-Controlled Woman by Beverly LaHaye

Meet Sarah Sanguine - Part 2

For Sarah Sanguine, anger is a special problem. Because she is so verbal, consequently Sarah is often known for her "angry explosions." In fairness, Sarah repents easily for her angry outbursts and apologizes. Everyone usually succumbs to her charm and then forgives her. But after a while, that pattern gets pretty old. Sarah not only apologizes easily, but she also doesn't usually carry a grudge. Once she erupts, she forgets all about it. You may not forget, but she does. Thats probably why Sanguines don't have much trouble with bleeding ulcers --they give them to everyone else! By contrast, Clara Choleric, who can get mad almost as fast as Sarah Sanguine, doesn't forget after she erupts. Clara can continue to explode many times for the same insult, injury, or rejection --but not Sarah Sanguine. Once her anger is expressed, Sarah is ready to tackle her next crisis.

And Sarah usually lives from crisis to crisis. This is due to her lack of self-discipline, her inability to plan ahead, and her habit of agreeing to do more than her schedule could possibly allow her to do. Sarah Sanguine is so spontaneous by nature that she finds it difficult to engage in long-range planning. Consequently, her life is filled with endless disastrous experiences that have been brought on by her disorganization. Perhaps that is why tardiness, not paying bills on time, or not keeping well-intentioned commitments clutter Sarah's life with unnecessary pressures. And it may be one reason that, even though she was voted "most likely to succeed" in college, Sarah often fails to reach her full potential in life.

Sarah is famous for procrastinating. The challenge of doing the next activity dulls her motivation to finish her initial task and follow through on her assignments or commitments. Most sanguines would rather sit around with people and talk about work than engage in it. Sarah needs to set reasonable self-discipline standards for herself and keep them. She also needs to finish the present task before taking on the next. Sanguines are not lazy by nature, but they tend to engage in much meaningless and unproductive activity.

Sarah Sanguine also needs to develop sales resistance. The old saying is true "the easiest person to sell a product to is a good salesperson." As such, sanguines have no sales assistance. Consequently, they are often heavily in debt. The good news is there is much hope for Sarah Sanguine in the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Peter would have been known as the likable, charming buffon0n of church history if he had not had an enounter that transformed his life. And that power is available to any temperament today.

Meet Sarah Sanguine-Part 1

Sarah Sanguine is the superextrovert temperament with a fun-loving personality who is always the life of the party. She has a warm and happy disposition that is contagious. Sarah is also the one with charisma to burn and the natural ability to lift the spirit of others, often motivating them to new heights of success, happiness, and fulfillment. Sarah may have been a cheerleader in high school, and she goes through life seeking to lift the spirits of others and bring joy into their lives. She is a natural saleswoman and a fascinating storyteller.

The moment Sarah enters the room, she begins lifting the spirit of others. You can't have a party without her, for she makes people laugh with her endless chatter and list of jokes and funny experiences. She loves people and enjoys talking. She is easily the friendliest person you will meet and has an amazing ability to melt even the coldest personality. Melancholies usually resist a sanguine's cheerful spirit at first as "unrealistic," but even they begin looking forward to her relationship. Melancholies often marry sanguines. They are the one person who makes melancholies feel good. But after marriage, melancholies can often be driven to irritation and distraction when their sanguine spouses reveal disastrously disorganized and undisciplined ways.

Sarah Sanguine is in the good humor business. She spreads humor and cheer wherever she goes. Sarah an always be counted on to open the conversational door. But Sarah Sanguine has to be careful that her open friendliness isn't taken as being flirtatious.

Sarah is never at a loss for words, though some of her spontaneous chatter can become rather inane. The biblical phrase "your speech betrays you" is certainly true of Sarah, who is not a deep thinker; consequently, her conversation gives her away. No other temperament goes away from a party or gathering like Sarah Sanguine, wishing she had said less and listened more.

The emotional side of Sarah's life is always right at the surface. She can cry at the drop of a hat. And it doesn't take much to bring on those tears. The good side of this is that Sarah shows compassion for others easily. The bad side is that Sarah lacks emotional control (although, in fairness to Sarah, she can often laugh as easily as she cries -- sometimes for no reason, and sometimes much too loudly). It is this easy swing of emotion that often gives people the impression that Sarah is emotionally insincere. The truth is Sarah is just emotionally expressive.

One result of this emotional responsiveness is that Sarah can be swept off her feet quickly in matters of the heart. With her strong desire to please other people, Sarah can easily be led into sexual temptation unless her moral values are deeply rooted in a strong character. On the other hand, she does not dwell on the tragedies of life. Sarah is capable of forgetting the unhappy present and will set out to pursue a happier future (that she somehow always knows is just around the corner).

As lovable and expressive as Sarah is, she also has more than her share of weaknesses, chief of which is her weak will. Sarah's lack of discipline, unless fortified by the Spirit-filled life, is usually reflected in every area of her life. Many sanguines are 30 pounds overweight by the time they are 30 years of age, and can expect to gain another 3 to 5 pounds a year unless they face their weight problem and develop a disciplined program to overcome it. Her lack of self-discipline also often results in a habit of talking too much, failing to establish good work patterns, and giving in to her emotional excesses.

Please read the full Sanguine temperament by purchasing the book...The Spirit-Controlled Woman by Beverly LaHaye

Meet Clara Choleric - Part 3

The lively, energetic Clara Choleric can outproduce all the other temperaments put together. However, to reach her goal she probably has offended and run over the feelings of other milder temperaments that may have stood in her way. When she allows the Holy Spirit to soften her insensitivity to other people and learns to love with a compassionate heart, Clara Choleric can be a mighty crusader for the cause of Jesus Christ.

Please read the full Choleric temperament by purchasing the book...The Spirit-Controlled Woman by Beverly LaHaye