Are Our Ancestors Really Curse Carriers? A Call to Rethink Our Heritage
Jerry Adesewo
I recently came across a deeply reflective message by Pastor Dele Osunmakinde titled “Are Our Ancestors Really Curse Carriers? This Is Not Fair!” and found it both timely and necessary for this week’s edition of From the Pulpit.
In a time when the language of ancestral curses has dominated many pulpits, deliverance ministries, and prayer altars, this message invites us to pause and reconsider what we believe—and more importantly, what the Bible teaches—about our spiritual heritage.
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Inherited Blame: A Theology God Already Rejected
It is increasingly popular to attribute personal, financial, or spiritual struggles to the sins of long-dead forebears. However, Scripture is clear that this mindset is not only faulty but one that God explicitly refuted.
“In those days they shall say no more, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ But everyone shall die for his own iniquity.” – Jeremiah 31:29–30 (KJV)
Again in Ezekiel 18:2–3, God thunders against this inherited-blame theology: “What mean ye, that ye use this proverb… As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.”
The Lord puts an end to the doctrine of automatic generational condemnation. Each person is responsible for their own actions, and while generational patterns can exist, they are not always spiritual curses.
Not All Our Ancestors Were Idolaters
There’s a tendency to oversimplify African history, painting it as entirely dark until the arrival of Western missionaries. But this erases the real and complex spiritual journeys of many of our forebears.
In Acts 8, the Ethiopian eunuch—a high-ranking African government official—is found reading Isaiah and returning from worship in Jerusalem. He wasn’t a pagan; he was a seeker of God.
Acts 2:10 reminds us that Africans from Egypt, Libya, and Cyrene were present at Pentecost, fully participating in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
And in Acts 10, Cornelius, a Gentile Roman centurion, was noted for his prayers and generosity. Though he had not yet heard the Gospel, his alms and prayers came up as a memorial before God (Acts 10:4).
These examples prove that long before modern Christianity, God was already revealing Himself to those who sincerely sought Him—even those without the right vocabulary or doctrine.
Honouring the Torchbearers in Our Lineage
Pastor Dele shares his personal story: tracing his family lineage and discovering not a legacy of witches and altars but of godly worshippers. His great-grandmother, known as “Iya Jesu,” was a fervent believer. His grandparents were educated in the Christian faith and raised their children with discipline, devotion, and moral uprightness. His father, he recalls, led daily family devotions at 5:30 a.m. without fail.
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This isn’t an isolated story. Many Christian families have similar histories—quiet legacies of integrity, faith, and sacrificial living that laid a solid spiritual foundation.
“Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.” – Isaiah 51:1
Faith Is Not Defined by Style
Modern Pentecostalism has wrongly equated certain expressions—like speaking in tongues, fiery prayers, or anointing oil—with deeper faith. But Scripture teaches otherwise.
In 2 Timothy 1:5, Paul commends Timothy’s “unfeigned faith,” first seen in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. These women lived before Pentecost, yet their faith was genuine and impactful.
True faith is not in outward expressions but in inward conviction and obedience.
Not Every Problem Is Ancestral
Some issues in our lives are not due to generational curses, but personal decisions, poor planning, weak discipline, or spiritual laziness masked as warfare.
“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” – Romans 12:2
Blaming ancestors for personal shortcomings can become an excuse to avoid responsibility and transformation. Not every delay is a demonic altar; some are decisions waiting to be made.
Your Existence Is Evidence of Redemption
If you’re alive, thriving, and in Christ today, it’s not merely because you out-prayed a curse. It could be because someone, generations before, stood in the gap—perhaps in partial light, but with sincere faith.
The psalmist declares:
“The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a goodly heritage.” – Psalm 16:6
This truth deserves reflection. Many of our ancestors survived wars, colonialism, epidemics, and spiritual darkness while still raising godly families. Some honoured God without fully knowing Him, and He honoured their faith.
Reclaim the Redemptive Story in Your Bloodline
It is time to rethink how we speak of our ancestry. While spiritual warfare and deliverance have their place, blanket condemnation of previous generations is lazy theology. Many of us are standing on the shoulders of those who kept the candle burning in a time of great darkness.
We are not merely survivors of curses—we are proof of covenant. Let’s honour the faith of those who walked with God imperfectly so that we could walk with Him more fully.
“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law… that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ.” – Galatians 3:13–14
You are not the victim of your ancestry. You are the evidence of God’s providence.
Let us honour those who passed on the light.
Are Our Ancestors Really Curse Carriers? A Call to Rethink Our Heritage