Is Mold Part of the Curse?

“Is mold part of the curse?”

Thanks for your good question, Charles!

Mold is a type of fungus, a group of living things that break down dead plants and animals. It grows in moist areas and feeds on any organic (natural) matter, like wood, fabric, and food.

When God created everything in six days about 6,000 years ago, all creation was perfect—including mold. God called it all “very good.” Even if our world wasn’t cursed, plants would have (including trees) decayed as part of the natural cycles that God created. Additionally, God gave all plants to Adam and Eve as food to eat (Genesis 1:29–30). In that case, fallen leaves and other decaying plant matter would have covered the ground. Before the curse, mold likely begun breaking down this leaf litter so that new plants had a healthy place to grow.

But soon after everything was created, Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and death and suffering became part of the world. Because we live in a sin-cursed world, we experience things like death and sickness. Sometimes, mold grows in people’s houses, which can cause health issues like allergies or illness because it produces mycotoxins (MY-coe-tok-sins), toxic substances.

While mold breaks down dead animals, which were not part of God’s original very good creation, it still serves a good purpose. God created mold and other fungi as a very good way to break down organic matter, creating a healthy ecosystem for new things to grow.

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