Do you want curses or blessings? Do you want to fully partake of what Jesus offers, or reject it? Do you want grace -- or gracelessness?

It sounds like a silly question, but at times -- many times -- we choose the "curse."

We curse ourselves. Jesus taught this. We curse ourselves in many ways. Most often, it is through words.

If there are blocks in your life -- if prayers seem unanswered -- take stock of what you say (and think) through the day.

"The words we are pronouncing say much about ourselves," noted an Croatian priest named Father Ljubo Kurtović a while back.

"A word can wound and heal, it can kill and bring back to life. This is why it is important to overcome what is bad and evil within us with what is good, pure, and blessed. Whatever is blessed brings blessing. Bless a thing and it will bless you! Curse it and it will curse you! Whatever you judge in your life will come back to you and hurt you.

"If you bless a situation, it has no more strength to hurt you and, even if for a time it causes you trouble, little by little this trouble will disappear, and the blessing coming from a pure heart will become a blessing for others. When you bless, you become ready to receive blessing. Blessing is the strength and the light for our paths. Through the blessing, light and peace enter into us. As soon as someone starts to bless instead of curse, wishing good to others instead of cursing them, he becomes healthy, happy, and saved from the hands of the enemy."

We put ourselves at risk when we are not grateful. We do that when we are angry (even when offered grace). We do that when we fail to see God's goodness in suffering (when we do not take advantage of the great power in suffering). We do it when we lack kindness.

And we do it when we consider a blessing a curse.

Look back at your life and meditate on the times God sent you much to do -- perhaps a flood of business -- and you made it into a trial instead of a gift; you cursed all you had to do instead of thanking Him for it!

We also turn a blessing into a curse when:

--we reject someone who was sent to us

--we violate what was sent to us in marriage

--we squander or hoard what we were meant to share

--we divert a blessing into ego

--we turn joy into pride

--we fail to pray for those who attack us

--we stray from the Bible

--we have sex instead of having love

--we exploit nature

--we compromise with the world

--we count blessings with dollar signs

When sufferings come, remember the Law of Abraham: the pain (even agony) will be redeemed and made whole. There is always eternity -- the greatest blessing of all!

Frequently we lose grace due to a spirit of self-righteousness.

Did you ever realize how much of your casual conversation is taken up pointing out the faults or inferiority -- or negativity -- of another?

This gets back to how we talk: we are in a time when everyone is better than everyone else, when everyone has harsh words, when Christians and non-Christians alike destroy their spirituality by attacking others.

Everyone is above everyone else; everyone is filled with self-righteousness (caused by self-deception).

Don't let the devil take away what God wants to give you (which is a lot!). Don't judge others. You will be judged by the same measure. If you set the bar high, it will be high for you. On the other hand: "If you are humble," said Mother Teresa (heed this well), "nothing will touch you."

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