Can my father lay a curse on me?
Question:
Good evening, sir,
I have a question. I have obeyed my father, which is my responsibility as his son. He usually cared for the house, providing everything when my mum was alive. Now that my mum is dead, he no longer takes care of the family; two 17-year-old children are now far away from the house.
I now brought the issue up after prayers in the morning. None of us are Christians. He wouldn't allow me to complete a statement. He suddenly became angry with me, provoking me to anger. I spit out some words that made him angry as well.
Now, according to him, he laid a curse on me and said I won't inherit anything as a first son.
My question is: Can this curse be effective on me? He provoked me, and I provoked him, too. (Colossians 3:20-21).
Thanks!
Answer:
While it is true that fathers are not to provoke their children to anger, this doesn't mean that their children will never get angry at them. The concept is about continual fault-finding and an absence of encouragement to the point that the child gives up ("loses heart").
It seems that neither of you listened to the other. You had your mind made up about what you were going to scold him about. He wouldn't let his child scold him, so he became mad and refused to listen to what you wanted to say.
The question should have been, "Dad, it looks like you've given up taking care of us. Why?" Then, listen to his answer. You might not like it but try to understand what is going on. Once you fully understand the problem, you can approach him with some possible solutions.
A person can choose to leave a person out of his will. I don't know all the rules in your country. In my country, if a man dies without a will, the government sets automatic distribution rules. If he has a will, then the terms of the will set the distribution. I assume you would be unhappy with being left out of your father's will, so that would be a curse to you. See What are blessings and curses? It is not that your father has some special power over your life. He merely chose to do something that makes you unhappy.
What I suggest is that you apologize for losing your temper and annoying him. When things calm down, then ask your question in a calm manner.
