The curses you’ve spoken in life may come back — back with a vengeance! You may think that this doesn’t apply to you, but consider all the angry, condemning words you’ve spoken. Some were uttered before you were a Christian and some after. If you became a Christian later in life, there may be hundreds of people you cursed. How many times did you tell someone to go to hell? How many GDs did you shout. How many FU’s came out of your mouth? If you’re a Christian now, you may not think those old expletives need dealt with. Certainly, if you repented, your sins are forgiven. But the power of curses you uttered may still be headed your way. I’ll explain the three steps in the implementation of a curse. First let’s consider some curses we all need to break.
- #1 – The curse of sin is spoken of in Genesis chapter three. That curse is broken by confession, baptism, and holy living. Every person needs to break this curse.
- #2 – Cursing one’s father or mother brought the death penalty in the Old Testament (Exodus 21:7). If you did that as a rebellious youth, it needs to be specifically renounced.
- #3 – Idolatry is cursed (Deuteronomy 27:15). If you have, or have had, statues of Buddha, images of Hindu gods, idols of entertainment, undue adoration of religious personalities, all these things can be images of evil with curses that need broken.
- #4 – Deuteronomy also calls incest and bestiality curses. God curses certain kinds of sexual behavior.
But what about thoughts and words? Both precede actions. James 1:15 speaks of lust being conceived in the mind. In fact, all curses start with a thought. That thought can be injected by the devil into your brain, or if may be the expression of evil notions you’ve allowed to germinate without spiritual discipline.
After the thought of a curse, the next step in the progression is words. You may be angry with someone and harbor ungodly notions in your mind, but the matter becomes ratified when you speak words of hate, bitterness, or wishing misfortune.
The final step of a curse is acting it out. You may do that by seeking revenge or by sabotaging the person who is the object of your vitriol. Sadly, some Christian who have not properly disciplined their speech utter curses with horrible intentions. As James 3:5 says of the human tongue, “How great a matter a little fire kindles.”
What about the curse coming back on you? The Bible doesn’t specifically address the boomerang effect of a curse, but Jesus warned in Matthew chapter seven about the consequences of judging others. He stated that the measure by which we judge we shall also be judged. The curse you’ve spoken against someone else is the same standard of retaliation by which you will be measured. Consider these warnings from the Book of Proverbs (NIV):
- 15:1 – “A harsh word stirs up anger.”
- 12:18 – “Reckless words pierce like sword.”
- 29:11 – A fool gives full vent to his anger.”
The danger of a spoken curse is when the one hurling the invectives takes it a step further and acts on it. You can a curse by going to a psychic for a revenge curse, consulting a witchdoctor for a ceremony to bring suffering, or asking a voodoo/Santeria priest/priestess for a voodoo doll. The thoughts, words, and actions of curses you’ve invoked in your past may come back to haunt you someday.
Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to your mind any curses you uttered or acted upon before you were saved. If God impresses on you a particular person you cursed, go to them, apologize, and ask forgiveness. Take back what you spoke, place it under the blood of Jesus, and declare that it’s power over you is broken. In that way, you won’t need to fear that the curses of your words and action against others may come back to torment you.
