Christian Karma

In the modern world, distance from one country to another makes little difference on cultural influences. Karma is one of those things that has permeated our culture from a distant land. Hindu and Buddhist belief systems. We often hear it referenced in our culture even though most of the people who use the term are not actually Hindu or Buddhist. So what does it mean? Do we as Christians believe in karma? Can we, or should we use the term?

Well, first off we should ask ourselves, "What do most people mean when they use the term karma?" Well, to put it in more American lingo, it means that we get what's coming to us. In other words, we get what we deserve, either good or bad. What goes around comes around.

But does the Bible say about this? Well, the concept of karma - evil begetting evil and good begetting good- is quite common in Scripture. We read that a man reaps what he sows. If he digs a trap for others he will fall into it. In Ecclesiastes we have more examples of this type of reasoning.

So in a sense, we as Christians do believe in karma, although we would not usually use that name for it. We instead would call it reaping what we sow. We believe that we pay for our decisions with the consequences that follow.

You may be asking, "What about grace? Where does that play into this?" Well, that is an excellent question. As Christians we do believe that we have consequences for our actions, but we also believe that God can and does forgive those who repent. So does this cancel out the reaping and sowing concept?

Not at all. Although a sin is forgiven, the consequence is not always blotted out. For example, if a murder repents for his deeds the dead do not return to us. In the same manner, the choices we make in our lives that we repent of will often still come back to us in some form and require restitution. We are forgiven, but the consequence may remain. Samson, the man God chose to lead the Israelites with his strength was blinded after he lost his strength. Although his disobedience was forgiven and he regained his strength, he did not regain his eyesight. Even in this situation not all of the consequences were removed.

Conclusion

In the end, we do believe in consequences for our actions. This is a basic belief of all mankind. As Christians we believe that God has given us this innate sense of right and wrong. The fundamental knowledge that we have to own up to our errors is also something we believe that God has given each of us. God does forgive, however that does not mean we have a magic erase button for our consequences. Karma, reaping and sowing, or plain old getting what is coming to us is very Biblical. The name used for it comes and goes, but the truth of the matter stays a constant.