PASTOR’S BLOG 1.14.21

Breaking the Curse of Generational Poverty

I have  a message that I ministered called “Being a Curse Breaker”  If you missed that message I would encourage you to go online and watch it on our youtube channel by searching that title.  I really believe there is more to breaking a generational curse than just praying a prayer of deliverance; it also takes a change in behavior. In the last couple of years scientific research has shown that diet and lifestyle (in other words, more than just genetics) play a role in generational disease. You eat what your parents ate and they eat what their parents ate and the curse rolls on.

Poverty works the same way. In the classic book “What Every Church member Should Know About Poverty”,(*see info below) the authors state that research in generational poverty teaches us that those bound in poverty have a common misunderstanding; failure to understand proper life planning and the discipline that requires. It goes like this:

If I cannot plan, I cannot predict.
If I cannot predict, I cannot identify cause and effect.
If I cannot identify cause and effect, I cannot forecast consequences.
If I cannot identify cause and effect, I cannot control impulsivity.
If I cannot control impulsivity, I will be prone to reckless and even criminal behavior.

A victim mentality will freeze you into the current state you are in. If you take the attitude “I can’t do anything about my current situation in life”, then you are done. I always ask myself why or what? What can I do to improve what I am experiencing? Where does the blame really lie for my current circumstance that I find myself in?

Years ago I had a leader cause a lot of problems and I was venting to my good friend Kevin Leal about it. He responded by telling me I needed to take the responsibility for what happened and move on. “Me?” said. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You empowered him didn’t you?” Kevin answered.

Wow, that was some tough love, but it really helped me come out of the victim mode and move forward with empowering others.

There are a lot of “victim leaders” who have been burned and spend the rest of their lives afraid to trust again. We have to learn to identify cause and effect and make the changes necessary to move forward from failed places and efforts in our lives. John Maxwell has a book I liked called “Failing forward” it addresses some of the same issues. Breaking generational poverty is basically identifying the cause of the poverty. The victim mentality is a curse on our culture at this time in history, and every day certain achievers are breaking free from it. It IS possible!

Thirty years ago, I brought my two brother-in-laws to America from South Korea. They were penniless when they came, and had only a High School education. To this day, they don’t speak much English. They both lived in a one-bedroom apartment with their Mother in Los Angeles and worked in a convenience store. Within three years, they saved $20,000. And with $10,000, each they began a small business. Within three more years one was worth close to a million and the other was not far behind. They didn’t come as victims they worked, they saved and broke the curse of generational poverty from their generations! Now their children are prospering and becoming the next generation of successful Americans!

I refuse to be a victim! How about you?

Love ya,

Pastor Dave

* What Every Church Member Needs to Know About Poverty