What is a Generational Curse

The term “generational curse” has been used by Christians for a very long time.  This term is derived from several Bible verses:

You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin, to the third and fourth [generations] of those who hate Me (Ex. 20:5 HCSB)

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” (Ex. 34:6-7 NIV)

The idea of a generational curse today has been defined as:

Generational curses are repeating patterns of misfortune or negative traits that are believed to be passed down from one generation to the next. These curses can be rooted in sin, rebellion against God, or ancient family trauma. They may manifest as issues like disobedience, violence, or other ungodly patterns. The term is also known as family curse, ancestral curse, or hereditary curse.

Generational curses are thought to be practically inescapable.  In other words, who you turn out to be is a result of your family history.  I have heard this a lot from adoptive parents.  This notion suggests that if a baby is handed over to the adoptive parents directly after birth, and this baby never knows anything about their biological parents, they are still destined for a life cursed by their birth family.

This is a bad interpretation of the Bible!

The two verses above state that God will punish the children for their father’s sin.  There is a better translation of these scriptures:

You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me (Ex. 20:5 NASB1995)

Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” (Ex. 34:6-7 NASB1995)

Instead of these generations being punished for the sins of the father, this translation says that the children will be visited by their father’s sin.  So, what does that mean?  Simply put, the consequences of a person’s sin can be felt for several generations after.  Dealing with the consequences of sin is not the same thing as being punished.

You are not defined by the generations that have come before you.  Your life is yours to live.  You may have some additional challenges due to your family history.  You are meant to be a child of God, not a slave to your past.  Who you will turn out to be is not caused by the generations of your past, but by the relationship you have in Christ.

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phi. 3:13-14 ESV)

I heard a Christian teacher say that Paul must not have meant “forget” in this passage.  He said, “how is it possible to force yourself to forget something?”  The Greek word translated as forget means “to neglect”.  Rather than dwelling on the past, Paul says we push on to what lies ahead.  Do not let your past dictate what your future looks like.  You can neglect the past and not let it influence you.

In TobyMac’s song Rearview, he says he’s put the trouble in his rearview.  That is what you need to do.  Keep the trouble behind you and not focus on it.  There is a world of possibilities that God has laid out for you, if you can move ahead and leave what’s troubling you behind.

I often put a song, and a video here.  Today, I have two songs to share”.  I’m not listing the lyrics, so please, click on each video and enjoy what these two artists have to say about Generational Curses.

Matthew West – Family Tree:

TobyMac – Rearview: