Karma is killing me!

Karma. I like the idea. The simplest way to explain Karma would be that "you get what you give". It is like a bank account or investment that I continually see grow as I help a little old lady cross the road, let a driver merge in front of me or stay home on a Saturday night and baby-sit my niece and nephew. Sometimes it's a sacrifice and other times its comes naturally, but the more I "do unto others" the more my Karma stock rises. After my good deeds have been accomplished I just sit back and await my returns, after all, good works translates into good Karma.


Karma is usually associated with Hinduism or Buddhism, so why is a Christian like myself interested in Karma? Well, the Bible does say that "we reap what we sow", so on the surface the idea seems to have some similarities to Christian teaching. "Do onto others as you would have them do unto you", seems like a solid philosophy to live life by. We all want to live as comfortably, happy and healthy as possible and this seems to be the formula for a successful and fulfilling life.


However, I have found that there is a bit of a wrinkle in the whole philosophy. Life plays by its own rules and more often than not it is found to be unfair and unjust. The hardworking, dedicated father who loves his family arrives home late to find his wife in the arms of another man. A minister who gives his afternoons every Saturday to visit the sick is diagnosed with cancer. A son deceivingly scams his elderly mother of every penny she has ever earned in her life and penniless she is forced into a home.


After all our hard work, sacrifice and striving sometimes we are forced to watch as laziness is rewarded at work or at school. A red sports car speeds past like a blur and you are the one pulled over minutes later. The good guy doesn't always win and sometimes it seems the bad guy never loses. Life doesn't always reward us accordingly and sometimes it seems Karma is nowhere to be found.


Whether we call it Karma, "good works" or whatever, often times what we are attempting to do by our actions is please God and remain in his good graces. So in looking at the philosophy of Karma deeper it would seem that our motivation and our intentions are selfish. Our good actions are to our own benefit and in a way we are using others for our own selfish gain. We treat God like we are his co-dependent children who must make sure he is always happy, always smiling and we mustn't make him angry. Love should be our motivation, not fear.


Brennen Manning writes in his wonderful book "The Ragamuffin Gospel" that God "is not moody or capricious; He knows no seasons of change. He has a single relentless stance towards us: HE LOVES US. He is the only God that man has heard of that loves sinners". We can play all of the religious games, use all kinds of smoke and mirrors, yet God sees through our fancy production and sees us as we are, cowering in fear behind the curtain. He sees all our weaknesses, faults and sins and yet he loves us anyways. That is grace.


Karma and grace cannot coexist; they are in opposition of each other. Karma teaches that you do good and good things will be your reward, you do bad and you with reap negative things. Grace teaches that good or bad God accepts us in our current state, with our current problems, hang-ups and loose ends. The Apostle Paul wrote "God Said, My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in your weakness". God prefers that we stop striving in vain to make ourselves presentable to Him and let him accept us as we are. God practices Grace.


Grace is unnatural and difficult for us to comprehend and sometimes it is even impossible for us to accept. It is learned in us from the time we are born the consequences of good and bad behavior. Our parents and society as a whole molds us through punishment and reward and there is little room for grace. As we develop relationships in life often we feel like we must emotionally punish our friends and loved ones when they hurt us. We must not quickly forgive them but must make them suffer so they understand the wrong they have done without offering them any grace. Throughout the world religions teach that humans must please their god, and most if not every god in religion seems to be unpredictable, angry and vengeful. Unfortunately religion rarely teaches grace.


It isn't easy for us to accept grace; we still want to give something in return. But God extended his hand of grace to us before we could even act. He extended the gift of grace before we could choose to do right or wrong, good or bad. God throws Karma out the window. He has no place for it. It is just another religious tool to get in the way of his relationship and his love of his creation. Karma becomes just another philosophy that clouds our minds and causes confusion in our souls.

Grace is a free pass that allows us to sit out the exhausting Karma game. When we live our lives underneath the umbrella of Gods grace there is no longer a reason for us to keep score. Yet, if we continue to practice our good works in attempts to appease God and the laws of Karma than we have no room for grace.


I like the idea of Karma. We should strive to love, serve and treat others honorably and with respect. We should desire to become better people. But I like grace so much more, because although I try to love others and be a good human being often I fail. I cannot live up to the person I think I should be. I need grace.

"It is by grace you have been saved through faith; not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God; not by anything you have done so that nobody can claim the credit."

The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:8-9