The Four Temperaments in Christian Relationships

The four temperaments are choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic, and sanguine. Although they can be found on the net under knock-off names such as colors, elements, and animals, the original theory came far before the time of Christ, in Aristotle's time. Tim and Beverly LaHaye have written several famous and yet highly controversial books on the subject, including The Spirit-Controlled Person and The Spirit-Controlled Woman. Although some Christians reject the idea of applying pagan psychology to Christianity, I believe an understanding of who we are and how we work can help us better understand ourselves and our partners.

In any relationship, the point is to provide a loving, secure environment for both people, to be a beacon of God's love to the outside world, and to draw each other closer to God. To do this, you need to understand yourself and your partner as God made you, your natural strengths and weaknesses, and how you can best help each other grow to be the best version of yourselves.

Click below to view a more complete description of each personality:

• choleric
• melancholic
• phlegmatic
• sanguine

Of course, most of us are some mix of these four personalities. I, for example, am about 99% melancholic. In fact, I'm so strongly melancholic that I find it hard to even determine my secondary temperament. However, it is rare for any one person to be so predominately one temperament. Most of us are a mix of our dominant and secondary temperaments. For example, my partner is a choleric, but a much milder form of choleric than many (thank goodness!); I'd say he is about 60% choleric and 40% phlegmatic, which means his two temperaments balance each other out quite well. Therefore, you may see parts of yourself in two, three, or even all four of the temperaments; this is normal.

To find more about this subject, I suggest you read the LaHayes' books on temperament. Also, the following are sources I used to write these articles:

1. Dictionary. com at www.Dictionary.com
2. The Four Temperaments at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Temperaments
3. Personalities and Temperaments at http://www.oneishy.com/personality/index.php
4. The Spirit-Controlled Temperament by Beverly LaHaye