by Dr. Tim LaHaye Pastor, Scott Memorial Baptist Church, San Diego
MR. CHOLERIC
There are four basic characteristics about Mr. Choleric. He has a strong will power, being in continual mo tion to finish his job. He is usually self-disciplined. Second, he’s practi cal ; life has to have utilitarian values. If you happen to be a wife mar ried to one who has a choleric tem perament, one of the hardest things in the world is to get him to enjoy music. Yet, he’s practical enough to know that taking his wife to musical occasions makes her happier and easier to live with so he’ll go along with it. I must confess that I have this nature myself. I can remember preparing for a series of messages on Revelation. I finally succumbed to the need of taking my wife to the Boston Philharmonic Symphony Or chestra. I’ll never forget it — all those violins, brass, drums and cym bals. Looking at my lovely wife next to me, I saw her enraptured. She’s of a different temperament, enjoying the fine arts. Usually we find that opposites attract each other. On this occasion I wanted earplugs; the racket was deafening. I took the pro gram and used the back of it to make a number of notes concerning the study I’d been doing. Before the concert was over, I’d diagrammed the entire Tribulation period. Maybe it was because the concert made me feel I was in the midst of the Tribu lation, I’m not sure. This third characteristic of a choleric temperament is the fact that usually he’s a born leader. It’s easier to make a choleric into a leader than any other temperament. He’s the one who volunteers and picks up the pieces.
C hapter O ne H uman temperament is fascinat ing to study. This is the raw ma terial from which we’ve been created. It’s made up of the traits we inherit ed at birth. These are modified some what by our upbringing, education, and most of all, motivation. By that I mean the indwelling force of the Holy Spirit. In our first study we considered the person who was san guine. The second is described as choleric. Most people will have a lit tle of several temperaments although one will generally predominate. The choleric is also an extrovert like the sanguine, although, not quite as volatile. The thing that dominates him is his strong will power. He is usually very self-sufficient and inde pendent. He tends to be decisive and opinionated. Mr. Choleric thrives on activity. He doesn’t need to be stimu lated by his environment. He has endless ideas, plans and ambitions. He possesses a practical, keen mind, capable of making good, instant de cisions or planning worthwhile, long- range projects. He doesn’t vacillate under the pressure of what other people may think. He’s prone to be a crusader, often thriving under op position. Mr. Choleric is among the most successful of human beings. This isn’t because he is smarter than others. But he’s practical and fol lows through. When other people give up on their dreams, he’s still churning and carrying through. Did you know that the successful sales man is only about 16 to 17 percent better than the mediocre salesman? Successful people just go a little furtheT. Many are the failures of a life which quit too soon. 10
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