Dave Papp flickr, creative commons

When I was a kid, I killed a lot of evil foes. Cowboy Dave must have plugged a dozen Black Barts in order to save the beautiful girl. Occasionally, they shot me–right in the gizzard.

You should have seen me die. That’s one of the best things I did. “Ooh!” Then I would fall to my knees clutching my stomach where an invisible bullet lay buried, burning my young life away. It was so touching that even I was moved.

I also stabbed a few bad guys with my invisible saber when the game changed to knights and sword fights. I’ve never killed any visible people (though I may have driven a few of them crazy), but I’ve slain my share of invisible bad guys.

It seems to me that some grown-up Christians are doing the same thing. I reserve the right to be wrong but this is for those of you who’ve wondered about “breaking generational curses.” Here’s part of the scripture that my friends base their doctrine upon:

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me …” (Deut. 5:9, 10 NIV)

The teaching says that many of the problems we face today are passed down to us spiritually because of the curse carried by the sins of our parents. Not only kids but grandkids and great grandchildren can suffer for the sins of their elders, even if they’ve never sinned in the same manner.

So, somewhere we have to “break” the power of this generational curse so that we can be free of the punishment for their sin.

Now, I know we pass a lot of junk onto our kids and I hope my kids can forgive me for the headaches I bequeathed them. But, forgive me if I shock you, it’s not necessarily a spiritual thing, it’s a sociological thing. Often we raise our kids the way we were raised and we battle our own weaknesses like our parents did.

When my kids were home I was a sports nut. All three of them like sports. (You’ll be glad to know that I’m no longer a sports nut. A “sports fruit” would be a better description).

Christian psychologist Richard Dobbins noted that it often takes four generations after a person comes to the Lord to clear up the family “stream,”–these bad tendencies and responses that we’ve learned from our parents which influence our lives today.

But, to say that I’m under a curse because of my fathers and grandfathers, contradicts a powerful truth of God’s Word. The minute I put my faith in the Lord Jesus for salvation, the curse is broken and a thousand-year blessing is unleashed in my life!

Here’s the rest of the verse I quoted for you … “but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Deut. 5:10, NIV)

He’s Already Broken the Curse

Some go around shouting and  “breaking curses.” Why? Jesus broke THE curse for us at the Cross because it’s written, ‘Cursed is he who hangs on a tree.’ Why do we think we have to do something that has already been done? We’re shooting invisible bad guys. Jesus did the work at the Cross.

Not only has the curse been broken, Jesus brings us into a thousand-generation blessing. Instead of trying to break curses we ought to be entering more and more into Jesus and his thousand-generation blessing..

So, don’t we still deal with “issues” in our life after we know Jesus, David?

Yes but, it’s not a matter of chasing demons or curses; it’s a matter of sanctification, becoming like Jesus. We let the Holy Spirit change us–all our stuff and all the stuff our parents left us.

I can’t even find an instance in the Old Testament when this verse was written where we have to break a curse.

Paul never says, “Break the generational curse.” He says to let the Holy Spirit have a bigger and bigger place in our lives. Apply him to those rough spots in our life. “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 NKJV)

It may be that those who don’t know the Lord are outside God’s blessing, but not us! Jesus broke the generational curse and introduced an eternal blessing. We need to learn to enter the fullness of that instead of looking for a quick fix.

It’s fine for you to disagree and if you want to respond (for or against) I’ll share your responses. But, take time to think about what I’ve said before you answer please.

Hmmm …

How often we look upon God as our last and feeblest resource! We go to him because we have nowhere else to go. And then we learn that the storms of life have driven us, not upon the rocks, but into the desired haven.  George Macdonald