The Grand Finale 3: Generational Curses and Dangerous Hobbies

For the next several exhausting hours we poured over what I knew of the sin patterns and recurrent problems represented in my extended family. Jane taught me how to confess the reality of the problem, state my desire to have nothing to do with the behavior or experience, ask forgiveness through the blood of Christ, and then, in power, declare my freedom from the pattern. The psychologist in me critically questioned the usefulness of identifying myself with other people’s problems. I reasoned with myself, though, that the real purpose of this process was to break any connections that might actually be there. Besides, the result of the process was to feel empowered to walk in victory over besetting problems to which I had previously felt very vulnerable. I found myself wanting to share this process with my family members but fearing that they would discredit it as a bunch of baloney. “Don’t worry.” Jane assured me. “Wait for God’s timing. When they are ready, they will probably come to you.”

The next step was to identify the areas of my personal life which didn’t glorify God, gave a foothold to darkness in my life, and interfered with my keeping company with the Holy Spirit. I found that many of the worrying instincts and interests which I had identified in myself were fed by the kind of media I was drawn to. Reluctantly I admitted to Jane that, before getting busy with school, I had spent a significant amount of time pouring over, meditating on, and reproducing fantasy art full of dark content. As I thought about it, much of the poetry I wrote, and music and movies I enjoyed related to similar dark themes.

“Bingo” said Jane grimly. “Are you prepared to give up this area of your life? Right now it is an idol in your life and is giving a foothold to the spirits which are associated with the themes in the media.”

I made a face. “Those sketches and poetry represent the only time I’ve ever felt like an artist.”

“We encounter the spiritual world though our imagination and the spiritual world inspires us through our creativity. If you stop glorifying darkness with your creativity, you will be able to start creatively partnering with the Holy Spirit. There really is no comparison between what you give up and what you get in return.”

“Ok, let’s go for it.” I said firmly. The process was similar to that of breaking the generational curses. It involved identifying the themes which didn’t glorify God and which bothered my conscience present in the art, repenting, asking forgiveness, and then, with authority, renouncing any place those pursuits have had in my life. I found that it was a relief to name the dark themes in the art for what they are instead of trying to justify and protect my right to enjoy them. I hadn’t been spending time on my fantasy hobby for almost two years so it was not too difficult to promise to get rid of my sketches and renounce my association with the bestial sensuality and other themes that featured so prominently in the art. Though I found that I could wholeheartedly ask God’s forgiveness for making an idol out of such dark beauty, the thought that actual demons might be involved was very unsettling. By the time we finished, it was well after midnight and both Jane and I were exhausted. We decided to put take a break until the next morning.