Karma
I have a sibling who is a big believer in karma. This is the idea that “what goes around comes around.” If you do something good then something good will happen to you. Likewise, if you do something bad…
This is a rather contractual, transactional way of seeing the universe. It views good as something we can earn. It gives us a sense of control, and we love to be in control. But it is problematic when we impose the notion of karma on God, when we think this is how God operates: be good and God will be good to you, as if God’s favor is something we can earn. “Be good and get to heaven.”
This is not how grace works. Grace is pure gift of God. Ephesians 2:8-9 says: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God- not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Grace is God’s economy. The Kingdom of God operates on grace. God’s grace is poured out freely and generously on us all.
We can choose to accept it or reject it. We can choose to live generously, sharing the gift of God’s love so that God’s grace might extend into the world, or we can live for ourselves alone, disconnected from God and others.
By extending grace, we challenge the world’s notion that people get what they deserve. In our transactional culture, it is a wonderful thing to know that we are loved by God without having to earn it. We just have to live it.
Peace,
Bill
