Blessings and Curses 101

Blessings and curses. A bit of a controversial topic, especially the "curses" part in today's secular, "human-centered" world.

The idea of saying "God Bless You" or "Have a Blessed Day" seems nice and innocuous enough. Many times it is meaningless, especially coming from politicians. However, the implication is clear--there is a Deity actively involved in human affairs, an uncomfortable thought for some. Furthermore, it implies that this Supreme Being is not only involved in human affairs but he rewards and punishes human beings for their behavior. That is even more uncomfortable. The "punishes" part is what tends to rattle, or dare I say, infuriate those in rebellion toward God. Some Christians may take offense if their idea of God is limited to a "touchy feely" concept of the Almighty.

In this posting I will address one of the first areas where the concept of blessing and cursing was addressed in the Bible. The Bible has a lot to say on the topic but I will address specifically God's promise that was given to Abraham, known as the "Father of Faith" to true believers in God. After God made a personal promise to Abraham, He then made a promise to those who dealt with Abraham. In Genesis 12:3 KJV, the Bible declared God's promise, "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." I would maintain that is a very positive verse. Since then mankind has indeed been blessed. Instead of getting around on foot or on horseback, we are moving around in planes, cars, trains, and ships. We can talk by the internet, phone, fax or email instead of having to be in the same room, or send a smoke signal or a foot messenger. Many live in heated houses instead of having to make and keep a fire going. God has indeed blessed humanity.

You may ask, "OK, so that was Abraham, he's dead." True, but God is the God of the living, not the dead. Abraham's spirit is alive in heaven with God. Additionally, and more importantly, from a temporal perspective, is that God's promise given to Abraham also applies to Israel and Jews everywhere, as well as to Christians through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.

Therefore, if a person treats a true believer poorly or excludes him or literally curses him then he himself will be cursed by God and if this same person treats a true believer well (blesses him) he will be blessed.

On a national level, Nazi Germany put the Jews in concentration camps and tried to annihilate them. In return, I believe God cursed Germany by having the nation divided for over 40 years after World War II. Furthermore, the German capital, Berlin, was divided by a wall for over 20 years, those in East Berlin lived in a concentration camp much in the same way the Jews were treated by the Germans.

On a personal level, I have had numerous people treat me quite poorly and with extreme hostility, from family members to a leader of a Christian denomination to a Roman Catholic nun, etc. I have given up trying to get even with people because God does a much better job of avenging me by cursing such people.

So how do blessings and curses manifest in people's lives. Deuteronomy chapter 28 outlines the blessings and curses that God delineated for His chosen people, the Jews, based on their behavior.

Based on personal experience I have the following observed manifestations of blessings and curses:

Blessings....Through simple but deep happiness (Ecclesiastes 2:26), through good health (III John 2), etc. I have seen businesses get blessed, I've seen things happen that took less effort than should have been required like losing weight or getting in better physical shape.

I have also had many people treat me well and I've seen them get blessed with happiness manifested in a variety of ways including material prosperity like a better house or intangibles like peace and joy. For example, even if a person is not the richest person in the world God can bless them through what Ecclesiastes 5:20 refers to as "gladness of heart" in the NIV version. They may have pleasure in hobbies or an uncanny sense of contentment while others with much more may be hounded by an inner emptiness or dread.

Recently, golf star Tiger Woods has been in the news for a car accident and marital distress. On the radio, a commentator noted that what shocked people about Tiger was that despite all his worldly success and wealth he appeared to be unhappy or miserable. Sometimes, God can work out an unbeliever's circumstances so that their misery can lead them to a saving personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

And now curses.....People may get in poor physical condition, lose desirable relationships, lose favor with people, financially have difficulty, have health problems, or lose their good looks. However, losing those things doesn't always mean a person is cursed. In some cases, lost favor may be a result of persecution. The bottom line is, we are talking the God of the universe here. The list makes you fear God. To those who think this is mean or Old Testament I would say kindly, "get over it" or "deal with it". It's in the Bible and a New Testament verse, II Timothy 3:16 NIV declares, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness...."

Personally, I have noticed people who have cursed me or treated me poorly, often without cause, get very sick, get a broken bone, have to retire because of illness, have to move away from me or their favorite house, lose financial blessing (lost tips, loss of a desirable job, having to do something you hate for a living, etc.), lose youthful vigor, get the flu, get pregnant out of wedlock, get hooked on illegal drugs, get cancer, etc. Again, having these things happen may not necessarily reflect a curse (see the book of Job) but I would suggest that often it does.

Another way God can bring a curse on someone is by judging them with the same negative circumstances that the person they are cursing has had. Finally, the ultimate curse is being sent to hell (actually choosing to go there) because a person rejects God and the only path to salvation He has established (John 14:6) which is to repent of sin and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

I would undoubtedly get an argument from some, and I have, but I have seen such manifestations of blessings and curses too many times to not be able to see the underlying and fundamental reason behind the reason.

I sometimes wonder in amazement when I quote Genesis 12:3 to an "attitudinally challenged" person. They often immediately and rightly conclude it as an insult (or a rebuke) because they may want to hate me without consequence. I once had a Roman Catholic woman who believed in "karma", by the way which is a non-Christian counterfeit of Genesis 12:3, get irritated upon hearing Genesis 12:3 but she didn't have a problem believing in karma, which maintains a similar idea except that some "impersonal force" is dispensing the judgment. It was sadly hypocritical.

The lesson...watch how you treat people you think might not be worth treating right. That person might be a believer and furthermore he might be a believer who claims Abraham's promise proactively on a daily basis. And again, see Deuteronomy 28 for a more complete list of the blessings and curses God promised.