Was I Born This Way?
by Creflo Dollar
Is a homosexual born a homosexual? Is an adulterer born an adulterer? Is an alcoholic born an alcoholic? Many Christians would immediately answer “no” to these questions, but I want to challenge that answer.
David said, “Behold, I was brought forth in [a state of] iniquity; my mother was sinful who conceived me [and I, too, am sinful]” (Psalm 51:5, AMP). He prayed earnestly about the sin and iniquity in his life, and asked God to have mercy on him. Just as we inherited certain personality traits from our parents, we also inherited sin tendencies (the leaning toward certain sins).
Iniquity is sin passed down from one generation to the next. The iniquity determines the tendencies. Many people may ask themselves, “Why am I having an issue with sexual perversion, and why did my father have this issue?” Or, “Why is it that I am committing adultery just like my mother did?” Or, “Why is it that I’ve had a child out of wedlock, just like my mother and my grandmother did?” Is there an answer to these questions? Yes, there is. The answer is found in the Word of God.
The above scenarios can be defined as generational curses. The Bible says a causeless curse shall not come (Proverbs 26:2). In other words, nothing just happens. We can be free, but it requires studying the Word of God. As a result, we become more equipped to dig deeper into certain sin issues so that we can defeat them at the root.
However, nothing will happen until we take the first step, which is to become a born-again Christian. Jesus shed His precious blood so that we may be born again. He suffered great torment and allowed Himself to be brutally killed so that we can be free from sin’s control. We no longer have to live a life dominated by sin. When we make Jesus our Lord and Savior, we switch families and take on the nature of God instead of the devil’s nature.
Although our nature (the spirit, the inner man, or the very core of our being) changes, there is still work to be done. Man is a tri-part being—spirit, soul, and a physical body, and only the spirit is changed when we become born again. The soul and body still need work.
The mind is the control center of the soul and body. Therefore, the second step in the process of becoming new in Christ is to renew the mind with the Word of God, which means we exchange our thoughts for God’s thoughts and our ways for His ways.
The challenge is to keep our old nature from resurrecting. That is why renewing the mind is a daily process and a lifetime commitment. It must become a habit. Since the battle is within the mind-renewal process, we must read and study the Word regularly. As a result, our thinking will agree with the Word. Ultimately, the sin tendencies or generational strongholds will become weaker and weaker.
If you are struggling with a sin tendency, ask yourself: Am I nourishing the tendency instead of reading the Word? Am I exposing myself to something that feeds the tendency? For example, if you are dealing with sexual sins, are you exposing yourself to worldly, lustful images? If so, you are creating an inward battle. Wrong information, distorted views, and warped concepts cause us to reason and doubt the Word. A “high” thing is created in our minds when we accept thoughts that oppose God’s Word. Remember, we must cast down these “high things” (2 Corinthians 10:5). We do so by confessing the Word of God (using it as a weapon against opposing thoughts).
By repeating the necessary processes to renew the mind, a transformation will surely take place, and we will no longer be subject to our old sinful nature or the generational curses that held us captive.
