Generational Blessings and Curses

From time to time our pastor reminds us that both generational curses as well as generation blessings are very real and do exist.  He reminds us that it’s extremely important to understand our own personal history.  Where we came from has a lot to do with who we are today.  And once we understand where we came from, it can better help us understand how to best move on with our lives into the future.   One thing is for sure though, generational blessing and curses are inherited from birth OR THEY BEGIN WITH YOU.

Generational blessing comes in many forms.  Some people are born into wealthy families.  Some have families where family closeness and loyalty is shared.  Some are born into families that share their possessions with others and giving is important.  Some are born to families that emphasize health and well-being.  Some are born to families where God is loved and allegiance to His Word is what matters most.  These blessings flow from generation to generation.  It places on onus on each individual to be responsible for taking care of the blessing so that it does not erode and lose it power.

On the other hand, generational curses have the ability to cripple your life before it ever really begins.  Because of our inherent sinful nature, we usually have to overcome these curses before we ever experience true spiritual freedom and blessing.  Oftentimes, we are cursed without even knowing it.  We may think that we are the way that we are because….well, that’s just the way that we are.  Think about your life for a second.  Do you find yourself doing things that you don’t want to do, but do them anyway, constantly getting the same result?  If you think hard about these incidents and dissect that lies behind the actions, you just might find that the root of your action lies somewhere in your childhood.  Curses can be marked by the following:

Generational Poverty (We live in the United States, right?  I wouldn’t include this one if we lived in Bangledesh or some country where pretty much every one is poor since this example would be more about national poverty as opposed to family generational poverty)

Depression, Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Laziness, Anger, Divorce, Addiction, Teen Pregnancy, Fatherlessness, Dishonesty, Underachievement, Godlessness, Luke-Warm Spirituality, Fear.

As it has been said many times, we are a product of our family of origin.  We inherit the blessing as well as the curses that were passed down to us from our parents, grandparents and sometimes beyond that.  The bible is littered with examples of sons repeating the same sins of their fathers.  And these were men called by God to do extraordinary things.  This still happens today.  I’ve noticed the ill effects  as well as the goodness of generational blessings and curses in my own life as well as the life of my friends and people I’ve had the privilege to know beyond hello’s.

Source: tumblr.com via Breanne on Pinterest

What I’ve come to know is that the only person that can kill a curse and usher a new regime of blessing into you and the life of your family is YOU.  You have to make a decision that a new way of living is essential to your future.  It is essential for the future of your children and your grandchildren and beyond.  That means you have to think about how you parent your children.  Think about the words that you speak to them.  Think about what you are teaching them with both your ACTIONS as well as your words.  Your actions tell your children the story of what you want them to be and how they should live.  Your ACTIONS paint a picture of what your children believe about themselves.  

To move forward from curse to blessing, we need to know 2 things.  First, figure out where you came from and identify the curses.  Second, find out what God’s word says about what your life is supposed to be like.  Once you uncover the lies of your past, you can start to work towards the greatness of your future.  You have to be ready for a fight, both in the natural with A) People who don’t want you to change and B)Getting past your own hang-ups by renewing your mind with the Word of God.  

It will take some time, but if you are committed to do that which is righteous and noble and pure and lovely and admirable(Philippians 4:8), you will begin to:

• Replace poverty with prosperity
• Replace Depression and Anger with Joy
• Replace Physical Abuse with Hugs and Kisses
• Replace Sexual Abuse with appropriate displays of affection
• Replace Divorce with committed matrimony and loving compromise
• Replace Teen Pregnancy with an emphasis on the value of virginity
• Replace Luke Warm Spirituality with Hot, On Fire, think before you Act or Speak Spirituality
• Replace Underachievement with Excellence
• Replace Laziness with Timely Responsibility
• Replace Dishonesty with Truthfulness
• Replace Fear with Contentment
• Replace Fatherlessness with Jokers who stay around and commit to do all of the above!

I believe with my whole heart that this is the healing that we really need.  We need to allow ourselves to be healed in our spirit from the curses of past generations.  We need to do this to usher in the blessing of God to be flourished for future generations to come.  See, healing in our body just makes us comfortable and keeps us around longer.  Physical healing is temporal, because we will all die.  So my challenge to you is this.  Are you ready to die?  Are you ready to kill the curses, whether they be few or many that keep you from reaching your destiny and purpose?  Can we be brave enough to stand up for what is right, for the future of our children and our children’s children?

The answer is in how you live.  

I leave you with this.  Identify the curses and make every effort to stop them in their tracks and enjoy the blessings that have been passed on to you.  Each of us prepares the way for the next generation.  Let’s teach them how to protect what God has even us.

Disclaimer:  Every now and then I get inspired to write about something that really touches my heart. As a result I get a little wordy.  Nevertheless, thanks for sticking it out to the end.