2 Steps Back

I’ve written in the past about temperaments; mine and others, as well as books all church attendees should study again and again…For me, it’s time to traverse down that path once again.

I’m going to pull my well-read copy of “Bait of Satan” from the shelf and review the basics: It is MY offense…I own this offense…I am the only one that can RELEASE this offense…DANG, DANG-DOUBLE DANG! It’s not ironic that my husband and I are starting this study again this week, with 4 other couples.

My temperament, as I’ve mentioned before, is CHOLERIC-75/MELANCHOLY-25 (though sometimes it shifts more or less one way or the other). This is NOT an excuse for my behavior it only helps me to recognize why I REACT to things the way I do.

If you ever truly WANT to hurt a “Choleric” say something about the way they waste time or can MAKE time to do just ONE more thing! Cholerics are above and beyond all else; leaders and multi-taskers. We can complete more tasks then any of the other temperaments combined and we thrive in leadership and decisive decision making. It would also make sense then, that we must be very careful and seek discernment about the things we volunteer for, which could be overwhelming if we take on EVERYTHING our flesh thinks we can do.

One problem is sometimes we need others to recognize this ability as well. My husband, bless his heart, knows the greatest COMPLIMENT he can give me is to say something along the lines of: “You got SO MUCH DONE TODAY! How do you do it all?” Of course my husband doesn’t SHOW this inflection, because he’s so monotone…but I know what his heart is saying.

I am carrying an offense from a comment by another woman, who I really am growing to love…she is NOT choleric. She is primarily sanguine in my estimation. She can talk to anyone and be perfectly at home with that. She loves to be the center of attention and can hold us all captive by her stories and teaching. She made a comment to me about my ability to take on one more thing and I felt my eyes grow big as silver-dollars.

It wouldn’t be such a BIG deal, except this offense I carry is yet another thing to put in my bag of “goodies” that I haul around everywhere I go…and I feel myself emotionally pulling away from this group of women that I am JUST starting to open up to.

That is how the melancholy in me works. If I were 100% Choleric I would just blast anyone who ‘threatened’ me and be done with it…Melancholies, on the other hand, are brooding, emotional, introverted, grudge-holding when angered. They are also intelligent, highly creative, thorough and detail oriented. So ‘Ms. Melancholy’ is saying, “keep quiet and we’ll deal with this later.” What is wrong with me… why would I CHOOSE this ugly road once again? My temperament is TRANSFORMED by the Holy Spirit…only in as much as I can live the utterance; “DIE FLESH DIE!”

This whole thing makes sense to me because the minute I began to really think on Christ and His love for me, Satan saw that as a prime opportunity to divert my eyes, mind and heart to another IMPERFECT person. I KNOW this and yet I’m still tripped up.

Today I will pray and I hope I can release this offense before my mouth speaks. I will now refer to what God says in James 3:1-12 and thank you for listening.

“Not many should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment; for we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a mature man who is also able to control his whole body. Now when we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide the whole animal. And consider ships: though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our bodies; it pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell. For every creature--animal or bird, reptile or fish--is tamed and has been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who are made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things should not be this way. Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water."

Happy Tuesday!