From Curse To Calling by Penny Nyob

7.27.25 

Stetson Memorial UMC

Scripture Readings:

• Exodus 20:5 — “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.”
• Ezekiel 18:20 — “The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent…”
• Galatians 3:13 — “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us…”
• Romans 12:2 — “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Introduction

Just as the Monarch butterfly knows how to return to a land it’s never seen, many of us carry invisible maps in our hearts — spiritual, emotional, and even generational. But hear this: not every path our ancestors took should be followed.

The Inheritance We Never Chose

Exodus 20:5 speaks of sins being passed to the third and fourth generation. This is not just punishment—it’s a warning. A warning of how deeply embedded dysfunction, sin, and trauma can be.

We inherit more than eye color or body type.

We inherit coping mechanisms.

We inherit unspoken pain.

We inherit fear.

We inherit habits.

We inherit mindsets.

Let me tell you a story.

My dad’s dad was an alcoholic—a happy-go-lucky drunk that everyone loved.

My dad loved his dad, and watching him drown in addiction was probably one of the three worst things that ever happened to him.

As a preteen, my dad was already an alcoholic.

I really disliked my childhood.

And one day, when I was 15, I woke up hungover, my hair full of vomit.

Right then, I realized I had a choice:

I could continue the family pain…

Or I could make a change.

I had the right idea.

I didn’t drink again for 20 years.

Monarch Butterflies

Monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles.

A generation may die before the journey is complete—but the next knows exactly where to go.

The instruction is embedded.

Not taught—inherited.

So, too, many of us are born with instructions we didn’t write—legacies of addiction, anger, abuse, silence, and shame.

Breaking the Curse — From Curse to Calling

Galatians 3:13 tells us: “Christ became a curse for us.”

He didn’t just cancel our individual sin.

He broke the pattern of inherited sin.

In Christ, we are given:

• A new map,
• A new identity,
• A new lineage,
• A new trajectory.

Ezekiel 18:20 reminds us that we are not doomed to repeat the sins of our fathers.

We are responsible, yes—but we are also free to chart a new course.

I am so happy that I am learning to listen and follow what God wants from me.

And if the butterfly can be drawn to a home it never knew,

then by the Spirit, we can be drawn to a healing we’ve never seen.

Trauma May Be Inherited, But Healing Can Be Chosen

Science now affirms what Scripture always hinted: trauma can be inherited.

But—transformation is possible.

Romans 12:2 tells us: “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

This isn’t just a mental change.

It’s a spiritual inheritance transplant.

We don’t have to fly toward dysfunction.

We can learn to fly toward freedom.

Edgar Allen Poe once said, “I remained too much inside my head and ended up losing my mind.”

I found this to be true.

So I asked God what I could do about it.

And He said,

“Child, go and find people who need lifting up in mind, or spirit or body and be helpful. Love my people!”

So I do.

And funny… my minor problems seem to just resolve.

God Rewrites Our Story

Modern studies show trauma changes DNA.

But faith rewrites the soul.

Through therapy, prayer, repentance, forgiveness — we rewrite the flight path.

I have been in therapy for three years now.

I am relearning about overactive emotions that come with PTSD from a childhood full of more trauma than you really want to hear.

Most would not have the stomach for it.

I was a child.

And I learned what I lived.

Power is might.

Fear freezes people.

Be louder. Be more aggressive.

At 9 I was told,

“Soldier, you didn’t want that watch very bad, now did you?”

I replied, “Yes sir, I did!”

He shouted back, “Then you go get it back by whatever means necessary or don’t come home!”

That was minor.

His verbal abuse marked my mom and me for years.

Her fear of him made me fight back.

So I became more like him—so I could push him around.

And at 10, I put him in the hospital with second and third-degree burns.

I chose to become him.

Or as Ross likes to say,

“I could have been an axe murderer.”

But the grace and love of God showed me my way out.

It just took several times, a few knocks upside the head,

and being homeless…

to finally get the message.

Praise you, Lord!

A New Flight Path

If I told you the countless times God himself has spoken to me or provided a miracle for me to see His love for me…

Mental damage takes a toll.

And it is hard to feel clean and worthy when your whole life you were the butt of someone’s joke…

or the victim of things too horrible to even speak.

But the butterfly follows invisible instructions.

So can we.

Not the curse—but the call.

You may feel drawn to repeat your family’s mistakes.

But Christ calls you to be the first to break the cycle.

I did.

Even though it was so very hard.

Stop the Curse and Start a Legacy

Turn generational trauma into generational healing.

Stop the curse and start a legacy.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

You don’t have to land where they landed.

You are free to fly toward something new.

Let God take the lead and witness the wonders of His love. Amen!

W.H. Auden once said,

“All sins tend to be addictive; and the terminal point of addiction is damnation.”

Let’s not be addicted to sin.

God has told us since the beginning of time—it would not end well for those still clinging to sin.

So today, I leave you with this:

Let go of the curse.

Take hold of Christ.

And fly—toward freedom.

Toward healing.

Toward home.

Amen.