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Somehow God enabled me to remember the anger
ladder as it was taught by Dr. Campbell on
the radio many years ago. I added some positive
definitions on the top 3 rungs to help clarify
positive or healthy expressions of anger vs.
destructive expressions. I had to include it in
our
Tearing Down Personal Strongholds manual
on CD because it has been a valuable tool, year
after year.
Many children were taught that all anger was
wrong and don't know how to express anger
without sin to this day. Next time you are
expressing anger, check yourself and see where
you fall on this anger ladder, the top being
being appropriate anger, then "less sinful" and
of course, homicide being the most sinful.
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ANGER LADDER
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+2
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Anger without sin includes stating your
motivation to resolve conflict and to
continue your relationship in peace if
possible.
It attempts to understand or at least
clarify each position.
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+1
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Anger without sin expresses honest
feelings, is respectful to others, is
humble in tone and takes responsibility
for it's own choices.
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0
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Anger without sin may not be willing to
discuss at this time and may only
enforce your boundaries or reschedule.
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-1
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Anger with sin uses negative, mean,
proud, rejecting looks,
condescending,
judgmental, sarcastic or ungodly
comments
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-2
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Anger with sin has a loud irritated tone
which says, “I’m not on your side.”
“Don’t feel, don’t talk, don’t ask”
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-3
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Anger with sin uses negative rejecting
body language or
walking out without a plan to resume
talking
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-4
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Anger with sin uses overpowering,
threats, separating comments, general
condemnations
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-5
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Adds interrupting or monopolizing
conversations;
rebutting without listening to what the
other has to say
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-6
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Adds calling them names, labeling,
stereotyping,
bringing up their history and their
relatives
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-7
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Adds yelling, attacking, cussing,
cursing them,
any type of verbal abuse or mental
cruelty
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-8
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Adds public put downs, uncovering them,
humiliation,
gossip, accusation and slander
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-9
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Adds physical abuse, threats of abuse,
threatening or abusing their property,
abandonment
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-10
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Adds passive aggression, any resistant
action with intent
to punish or to make sorry without
owning the intent
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-11
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[I added: Suicidal ideas, talk, threats
or any
insinuation that their suicide would be
your fault]
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-12
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Adds homicidal attempts, homicidal
threats
and homicide
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How did you do? Sometimes, we feel guilty for
expressing appropriate anger when anger is a normal
emotion to certain circumstances, i.e. intentional
violations of our child's boundaries. The Bible recorded
many instances when God became angry (without sin of
course) when His law was broken year after year.
See
our article on Spirit
of Anger for more clarity. We can have
appropriate anger, fleshly anger or a spirit of anger
that is taking over our responses.
If you
found this ladder useful, you will benefit from many of
the other handouts and tools in our
Tearing Down
Personal Strongholds
CD. These are actual teachings from our 10 week course.
Now, you can listen to all 10 teachings at home on your
computer CD and pray scripture with the 70 page
scripture manual.
Join
Christians around the world, as we pray strategic
scriptures, tearing down personal strongholds in
corporate unity.
Order today!
The
first step is to identify our common sinful reactions
and sinful behaviors when we are angry. Then we can
believe God for effective ministry in those areas. See
Restoration Prayer Ministry
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