Lessons from the Gospels 5– The Ultimate “Karma”

 People believe in karma – that the universe pays you back for good or bad deeds. It is not real. I think it might be an attempt by non-believers to explain why what you do seems to come back to you.

But it really is a law of God that what you do comes back to you, and it is not “karma” or coincidence. We see it here, in chapter 7 of Matthew.

Matthew 7:1-2 {NLT] 1 "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.”

Judge others and you get judged by the same standard of measure.

Matthew 7:12 [NLT] 12 "Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.”

Here is the Bible version of “you make your own luck” or “karma”. Now, it is not saying that what you do to others will be done exactly you. It is saying that how you treat others should be how you want them to treat you. Too often we see that when someone treats others badly, they still expect to be treated nicely or with respect. You’ve seen the videos where a store employee treats a shopper badly or a shopper treats a store employee badly and then gets surprised when it turns back on them.

Matthew 5:7 [NLT] 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Now, if you treat a Christian badly, they are going to still treat you with love and respect because THEY live the Golden Rule, even if you do not. I’m just saying that we would not find the same to be true of people without any kind of faith walk to guide them.

Bible readers will know that even the Old Testament shows that this is how God intended for life to work – that what you put out there will come back to you.

Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 [NKJV] 1 Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days. 2 Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.

Peek back at Matthew 5:7 [NLT] 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

God is the ultimate assurer that “what goes around, comes around”. Even if others don’t pay you back in kind, God will see that you get back what you give out – for good or bad.

It is HE who pays back good for good or evil for evil, not some mystic karma. We believers are to pay back good for good and good for evil. We are not the arbiters of what others deserve.

The ultimate and just Judge sees what others do AND what we do (the good, the bad or the ugly) and He gives us the opportunity to experience it right back – from Him.

We might weather a payback of ugliness in this life, be we certainly don’t want that on judgment day. No. Instead we count on God’s mercy over our sins, faults and mistakes.

So, again, we need to remember the scripture we started with. Matthew 7:1-2 {NLT] 1 "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.”

Come judgment day, “ain’t nobody got time for ‘karma’”. Mercy, patience, forgiveness, grace… If we want these on judgment day, sweet sisters, we must by using that measuring stick on others.

I welcome your questions and comments. You can write me in the chat or any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org.