But if you really reap what you sow, then every mistake you make will keep haunting you.\u00a0 Jesus offers a much better way to live \u2013 with Grace.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\nNow, I\u2019ll admit, Grace is a very cool thing, and I thank the Divine every day for the blessing of Grace, but does that mean a concept of Christian Karma is out the door? I would say, no. In fact, I think many people use Grace as a out. They believe they can do as they desire, treat others like crap, and\u00a0claim all is good because\u00a0they\u2019re covered by Grace<\/em>. In his recording of the life and ministry of Jesus, Luke shares Jesus saying the following:<\/p>\n\u201cHere is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!<\/strong> If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that\u2019s charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that. [Luke 6:31-34 MSG]<\/em><\/p>\nNow, let\u2019s connect that with what Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians:<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest.<\/strong> The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others\u2014ignoring God!\u2014harvests a crop of weeds. All he\u2019ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God\u2019s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. [Galatians 6:7-10 MSG]<\/em><\/p>\nThe KJV translates Galatians as \u2018reap what you sow\u2019<\/em> \u2013 we might say it like this, \u2018you get what you give.<\/em>\u2019 So, if Jesus is telling us to do good to others, and Paul tells us that what we do, comes back to us, yeah, I\u2019d call that Christian Karma. One of my conservative friends told me, \u201cYet, long came Grace to kick aside all that \u2018As you reap, so will you sow\u2019 garbage you\u2019re claiming<\/em>.\u201d In that conversation I reminded him that Paul was the one who said that garbage<\/em>. Between what Jesus said, and Paul added we have a spiritual cause and effect<\/em> understanding of the world around us. But to truly grasp this, one needs to understand the concept of Karma.<\/p>\nKarma can be defined as an action of spiritual cause and effect<\/em>, see the connection? The Idea is where the intent and actions of any individual influence the future of that individual [reap and sow]. So, we can say that good intent and good deed [treating others as you desire to be treated] contribute to receiving good karma,\u00a0while bad intent and bad deed will contribute to bad karma. Do good things, good things happen; do bad things, bad things happen; not right away. Or as Paul said it, \u201cThe person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others\u2014ignoring God!\u2014harvests a crop of weeds.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nIn that, I will leave you paraphrasing the words of a great thinker and radical theologian:<\/p>\n
[Christian] Karma\u2019s gonna get you<\/em><\/p>\nGonna knock you right in the head<\/em><\/p>\nYou better get yourself together<\/em><\/p>\nPretty soon you\u2019re gonna be dead<\/em><\/p>\nWhat in the world you thinking of?<\/em><\/p>\nLaughing in the face of love<\/em><\/p>\nWhat on Earth you tryin\u2019 to do?<\/em><\/p>\nIt\u2019s up to you, yeah, you<\/em><\/p>\n[Christian] Karma\u2019s gonna get you<\/em><\/p>\nGonna knock you right in the face<\/em><\/p>\nYou better get yourself together darling<\/em><\/p>\nJoin the human race<\/em><\/p>\n[John Lennon]<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many of my more Conservative Christian friends don\u2019t like the idea or Karma; I\u2019s not 100% sure why, but that\u2019s what I\u2019ve found. It could be because the idea central to Karma run contra to what they see as the central idea of Christianity. My personal view is that many push it aside because, as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2697,"featured_media":339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,8,9,11,12,14,15,20],"tags":[29,32,33,38,47,50,56,59,61],"class_list":["post-338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-karma","category-church","category-good","category-grace","category-love","category-missional","category-open","category-peace","category-theology","tag-care","tag-christian-karma","tag-church","tag-discernment","tag-friends","tag-grace","tag-jesus","tag-love","tag-mercy"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>Many of my more Conservative Christian friends don\u2019t like the idea or Karma; I\u2019s not 100% sure why, but that\u2019s what I\u2019ve found. It could be because the idea central to Karma run contra to what they see as the central idea of Christianity. My personal view is that many push it aside because, as they see it, Karma has its origins in ancient faiths they see as \u201cwrong,\u201d Hinduism, Buddhism<\/a>, Jainism, Sikhism, and Taoism. Whenever I try to speak with them about the idea of Christian Karma<\/em> they freak out \u2013 I mean, they totally blow a gasket, and run around in pink panties shouting \u2018The End Is Upon Us.<\/em>\u2019 Mark Herringshaw, in his book,\u00a0The Karma of Jesus: Do We Really Reap What We Sow?<\/u> (Bethany House, 2009) wrote, \u201cBut if you really reap what you sow, then every mistake you make will keep haunting you.\u00a0 Jesus offers a much better way to live \u2013 with Grace.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n