The Real Generational Curse
What is a Generational Curse? If you have not read my five earlier articles about this topic, please do so. For first-time readers, a generational curse is described as “the cumulative effect on a person of things that their ancestors did, believed, or practiced in the past, and a consequence of an ancestor’s actions, beliefs, and sins being passed down.” (Gospel Coalition).
As I have explained in my previous articles that the Adamic Curse of the original sin has often been misunderstood as the generational curses of our ancestors. Once this is understood, you will be glad to know that you have been liberated and there is no need to adopt the erroneous tedious approach of repenting and renouncing every sin of your ancestors. The Bible shows us a more expedient way – “Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.” (Romans 5:18).
Therefore, if we were to use the language of the proponents of the generational curse, our biggest “generational curse” is found only in the first couple that God created – Adam and Eve. Their disobedience produced the Adamic curse and the original sin. And ever since then, after the Fall, the nature of all human beings has become corrupted and sinful. The imperfect environmental and genetic factors have compounded the problem which made us more susceptible to bad habits and poor health. Thus, our behaviors and medical records resemble those of our parents and their parents and we can link them directly to the Adamic curse but not the so-called generational curses. However, in spite of what we inherited, there is also the question of our own responsibility and accountability of our lives and behaviors. That raises the question of whether we are more affected by our nature or whether we are simply nurtured to become the types of people that we are.
Nature Versus Nurture
This is an age-old debate on whether we inherit our behaviors or we learn them from our elders. Dr. Brenda Shook, a professor of psychology at the National University, the largest, private nonprofit university in San Diego, USA, enlightens us by stating that we have often asked the wrong question – “Is human behavior genetic or learned?” The more accurate question should be “To what extent is a particular behavior genetic or learned?”
Without going into all the complicating scientific details, Dr. Shook said that we do not inherit behavioral traits or personality but genes. And these genes contain information that produces proteins. These in turn form various combinations that ultimately affect our behavior. In short, while our DNA code does not change, the epigenome may change. Interestingly, the environment and social influence can turn on or off a gene.
Dr. Shook says, for example, that you may think that a good singer has inherited her talent genetically. However, she points out this might not necessarily be true. The good singer may not have a good singing voice but somehow her brain is wired in such a way that she can learn and remember easily all the vocal lessons that she has taken. And so her excellent singing voice is due to her ability to remember and activate all the vocal skills that she has acquired. The immense ability to remember is inherited but her vocal excellence is not. This singer is an example of the effective use of both nature and nurture.
An understanding of human behavior from a scientific point of view is beneficial for our understanding of “generational curses” so that we are aware that we are not slaves to the DNA that we inherited from our ancestors. And that it is scientifically observed in their study of Epigenetics that the epigenome when affected by outside influence, will affect the physical structure of the genome, which in turn, dictates which genes to turn on and which to turn off.
Differentiating Reality From Excuses.
As Dr. Shook has pointed out a person’s character may be affected both by nature and nurture. And so with that understanding, we should be able to differentiate what is reality and what is an excuse. No one can fully blame their ancestors for how they behaved and the consequential results of their behaviors.
For example, one believer approached me for advice because he believed that he was under the generational curse of gambling. He told me that his father was a gambler and so was his grandfather. However, I discovered that all his other four siblings were not gamblers. If it was a generation curse then why didn’t it affect all his other siblings? In fact, all of them were doing well in their careers and living responsible lives. Later, one of his brothers told me that this man was the “black sheep” of the family. Since a child, he had lived a very irresponsible life. He was the only one who did not help out at the mother’s hawker stall selling wanton noodles. He was playing truant somewhere while all his siblings realized their stark financial situation, and helped their mother whose business was the only source of income. To me, this man was definitely not under any generational curse but simply an irresponsible person who lived a very careless life.
Personal Dysfunction Versus Generational Curses
Too many people hide behind this concept of generational curses and dodge the true problem that lies in their personal dysfunction and wrong decisions. If they only take responsibility to resolve their problematic behavior than merely embrace this false teaching of generational curses so as to render themselves, helpless victims.
In conclusion, the only real curse is the wrong belief that we are powerless to break our personal dysfunctions and surrender our future to these mystical “generational curses”. When we understand that the Adamic curse has been nullified at the cross, no amount of “generational curses” can derail the purpose and objective of God in our lives.
Albert Connect 