Melancholic Type of Christianity 1

Have you ever asked yourself why you act the way you do? Why do you talk the way you do? Or why do you respond to things in the manner that you do? Even if you haven't consciously asked yourself these questions, you must have noticed that you are a bit or much different from others. Maybe, while growing up, you wondered, just like me, why your siblings couldn't just do things the way you wanted. If my dad was looking for anything in the house, everyone would shout my name because they had this notion that I knew where everything was kept. But if they checked the proper place, they would find it there. I would simply remove the key from the chair and place it on his table. I also wondered my sister couldn't just keep quiet. Why she always had to have something to say? Why were we so different?

I thought hard about how to title this short piece because some would argue that Christianity is Christianity. There isn't any type, it's just what it is. Yes, I believe that too. Also, I believe that we are all growing every day unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That just means we are growing up to be completely like Christ. However, when we become born-again, Christ meets us wherever we are.

We are all made in the image and likeness of God. Whatever temperament we are - sanguine, choleric, melancholy, and phlegmatic - We are all like God. God made us like that. If my sister is way different from me even though we grew up under the same parents, it means that we were born like that. Every temperament is a reflection of who God is. Why do you think God made us different? I think He makes us all different and unique so that we would all need each other. Opposites attract right? If we were all in one, then we would be self-sufficient. Also, it would be boring.

If we recognize that our differences are also part of God's plan, maybe we would quit comparing ourselves to others and stop beating up ourselves to act in a particular manner. We would also get to understand one another so well without any form of envy or strife. I learned this late. I mean, I once tried to be like my friend because she had this high energy and always had hot takes on everything. So, I would organize my words from beginning to end in my mind when someone got me angry. Unlike her, that would require a few minutes. Then I would pour it out with a loud voice, with my body shaking while struggling to fight tears. Maybe it worked for a while, but I got tired. It stressed me out. I would always feel like a spectator watching myself display. Like a role play. Although, it took me years to realize why it didn't work out. And soon, I also realized we all tried to be each other instead of embracing our uniqueness.

Today, I'm choosing to talk about the Melancholic approach to Christianity. Well, that's where I fall in. You might not fall in here because we are not all the same. But you can still follow me on this train of thought. Who knows? You might marry a Melancholic! Or you might be friends with one. It could even be your boss at work.

For a while, I distrusted the concept of temperament because people misused the whole idea. The theory of temperament is that we have our strengths and weaknesses. People would say I act this way because that's my temperament. That's just how I am. So, a phlegmatic who is known to be extremely shy will hide behind his/her shell of temperament and refuse to make important decisions. Or, I am prone to depression because I'm Melancholic. I have to talk before thinking about it because I'm Sanguine. I am angry by nature because I'm choleric. As a Christian, I said to myself that I don't have a temperament, I'm just going to live by the word until I'm just like Him. Christ is my identity. It's all true. That's the goal every believer should strive for and that mindset helped my growth because all I had to do was study the Word and be led by the Holy Spirit. If that alone worked, then why am I writing this?

So, I noticed a string of behavioral patterns in my life. I was always hard on myself, dissatisfied with my progress on everything because I had way too high standards. Now, high standards are good but if not reasonably curtailed, you would put unnecessary pressure on yourself. This is different from self-examination which the Holy Spirit encourages us to do from time to time. This is self-dissection if that's a word. A melancholic dissects himself until there's no self-confidence or self-esteem left. I would compare my life to others and conclude that I had hindered growth. I would beat myself up on everything. I had more encouragement sessions with the Holy Spirit and He would just randomly hype me up. But somehow, I thought He just has to do that because He is God. He is loving. So, most times I wouldn't react and keep wallowing in self-pity.

God, always so merciful, decided to help me out. So, He led me to pick up a book that has always been on my shelf, "Why You Act the Way You Do by Tim Lahaye." I read it from start to finish in one night without even knowing why I was reading it. That's because God works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasures. Back to the point, I stumbled across temperaments again, and this time God was showing its importance to me. I found myself mostly in the melancholic traits.

Melancholy is one of the four major temperaments. The four primary personality types are sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic. All others are blends of these four. A sanguine personality is marked by sociable skills and a pleasure-seeking attitude, a choleric personality is marked by ambition and leadership, a melancholic personality is marked by an analytical mind and calmness, and a phlegmatic personality is marked by peacefulness and a relaxed approach to life.

The strengths of a Melancholic.

• Perfectionist tendencies - This can also become a weakness because a perfectionist might not in reality get much work done and tends to procrastinate. But it's our strength in that we have high standards for everything in life. When we work, we strive hard for excellence. We go for quality most time before thinking of quantity.

• Deep feelings and Tenderness - Melancholic feel deeply but will most likely not express it.

• Highly observant - They would probably notice who has a crush on you before you know yourself.

• Highest IQ of any member of their family. Well, it's debatable; my brother might argue with that. but that's what Tim Lahaye said.

• Patience - Most times, we mistake the patience trait of a melancholic for the fruit of the Spirit.

• Creative thinking - Tim Lahaye says during melancholics' high emotional peaks, they often launch into an invention or creative production that is worthwhile and wholesome.

• Deep thinkers

• Confident and Calm

• Keen on details because of his perfectionist tendencies and analytical mind

• Most sensitive because they tend to feel deeply and will most likely not express it.

• Lovers of order - If anyone loves routines or laws, it’s melancholics. They hate spontaneous things because it makes them feel disoriented. A lot of times, they don't do things out of their comfort zones or in the spur of the moment. They don't like spontaneous or unplanned visits.

• Task-oriented than people-oriented.

• Hates distraction.

• Intellectual and analytical.

• Dependable.

• Reserved - rarely seeks the limelight and prefers to do things behind the scenes.

• Self-sacrificial - In the sense that they have this unusual desire to give themselves for the sake of others. So, you might find them in these sorts of professions.

• Self-disciplined - rarely eat too much or do too much social media.

• Very faithful and loyal friends or family members - On a lighter note, I think Elijah from Vampire Diaries must have been melancholic. He would do anything just for his family.

As a melancholic, one of the primary assignments you have in life is to be led by the Spirit. According to Tim Lahaye, no temperament has so much potential when energized by the Holy Spirit as melancholy. He also said according to research that most prophets or people God used in the Bible were melancholics. I’m saying that here because melancholics tend to convince themselves that they can’t do great things for God due to their self-dissection tendencies. One of the major things the Holy Spirit does for a melancholic is that He helps you magnify your strengths because naturally, you tend to overlook them and only dwell on your weaknesses.

Take time to meditate on your strengths.

In the next post, I would address the weaknesses of a melancholic and how to deal with them with the help of the Holy Spirit. If you don't recognize your weaknesses, then you wouldn't know what you need to work on. As Christians, we have the advantage of the Holy Spirit to help us magnify our strengths and deal with our weaknesses. However, you need to give Him something to work on. Well, until next time.

I hope this helped you a great deal. Share with your friends that seem to fit into this personality type. Thank you!

Leave comments if this blessed you!