".....Jesus entered a certain village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. And she had a sister named Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord's word seated at His feet. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations and she came up to Him, and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me."
Driving to my office this morning, I reflected on the people I work with and how different each of us are in temperament.
Hundreds of years ago, Hippocrates identified four basic temperaments in people. He named them choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic and melancholy. Today psychologists have given them a variety of names using animals, colors, blood-types and even types of cars. This week, we are going to give them fruit names such as cherry choleric, orange sanguine, peach phlegmatic and grape melancholy.
Each temperament type has strengths and weaknesses. Find your own, discover your co-workers and then implement ways you as a Spirit-filled Christian can blend them into "tutti-frutti". You can chuckle to yourself when you eat your fruit salad at lunch.
In today's Bible verse, Martha demonstrated character traits of a cherry choleric. She met Jesus and invited Him to their home (a born leader). She was busy preparing food (active and task-oriented). She confronted Jesus about Mary's lack of concern for helping her (strong-willed, can't relax, impatient and bossy).
Perhaps you are the Martha in your office. If not, someone is or nothing would ever get done. Listed below are some strengths and weakness of the cherry choleric temperament:
Strengths WeaknessesHere a few helpful ways to work with a cherry choleric:
organized bored by details goal-oriented makes rash decisions delegates can be rude productive manipulative sees the whole picture demanding motivated by opposition can't say, "I'm sorry"
1. Get to the bottom line, be brief and to the point.
2. Stick to business.
3. Emphasis logic when discussing ideas.
4. Ask "what" questions, not "how".
5. Discuss timelines related to specific goals.
A Spirit-filled Christian does not have to become overwhelmed by his/her weaknesses. The Holy Spirit can convict his/her heart and replace it with "the fruit of the Spirit" on a daily basis.
Tomorrow we will discuss Martha's sister, Mary, who has the temperament of orange sanguine.