Karma is a @#$%^
The great law of cause and effect. Karma is the “concept of action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences” according to Wikipedia. What goes around, comes around. Or as the Apostle Paul said, “you reap whatever you sow (Gal 6:7, NRSV).”
We too often live our life mindlessly. Not mindfully. We react. We don’t respond. Our intentionality is often lacking, so we walk through life just hoping to get to the next spot in the best condition possible.
And we sow…
People who think like me or agree with me matter. The others? Well, they’re not real people. They are deceived. They’re the enemy. They are ignorant, stupid, evil, and a disgrace to humanity.
And we sow…
The fascinating thing about farming is not that we reap what we sow. It’s that we reap after we sow and we reap more than we sow. We may sow one tomato plant, but in 2-3 months we can have a large harvest. Many tomatoes, not just one. From a single plant, comes a large harvest, but only after the plant has matured and grown.
So what are we sowing?
Paul tells us that we should work for the “good of all and especially for those of the family of faith. (Gal 6:10, NRSV)” He said just above this verse a prayer, that the church would “not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.” What will we harvest? Eternal life if we have sown to the Spirit. Corruption if we have sown to the flesh.
Yet the church is so divided. It is painful to watch. The tribe of my youth is constantly fighting about something, and the more they fight, the more they fight. And they fight over the silliest of matters, over secondary issues, over things that, in the grand scheme of things, will not matter at the return of Jesus.
Paul did not say to work for the right doctrine. He didn’t say to work for the best political party. Paul did not say to work for the right theology. He said to work for the GOOD of EVERYONE, especially those in the family of faith.
If we sow divisiveness, we will reap it. In our lives and in our churches and in our denominations. And in our world. Don’t think the divisiveness within the church has not led to divisiveness outside the church. We have learned from each other how to fight.
But if we sow good…
I have a friend named Jon, who planted a church in the bad part of town in Rapid City, SD. In 2023, he and his church were honored by the local police and a local Christian Native American group for the work they have done in that area. The area where the church was planted now has the lowest crime rate in the city. The whole community around the church is changing for the GOOD. They chose, as part of their DNA, to do good in the community for the sake of the community. And they have reaped a wonderful honor from the enforcers of civil law. But not only that, they have seen the light and life of Christ transform and transfigure not just the community, but people within that community.
What we stand on expresses what we stand for…
Some stand on principle. Some stand on truth. As followers of Christ, however, we should stand on Truth. No, that’s not a typo. It’s something very different. Truth is not a belief or a doctrine. Truth in the scriptures is always a relationship. Because all truth is wrapped up in Jesus, the only way to know truth is be in relationship with the Truth. Truth is relational, not objective.
Jesus is Truth. Principles are not truth. Theology and doctrine are not truth. Even the Bible is not truth unless we use that as a “shorthand for the authority of the triune God, exercised somehow through Scripture.”
So do we stand for a thing? Or do we stand for the other? It really does depend what you stand on.
So how do we break this divisiveness that exists not only in the church, but in our culture?
See the other as someone to be honored, as Jesus honored the broken and battered, the hated and outcast, regardless of background.
Provide a healing touch. Jesus touched others with a healing, gentle, genuine touch, not a closed hand or a harsh open hand. Touch is tantamount to intimacy, and a healing touch will transform,
See the other as someone to learn from. We are not superior to anyone. We are all colleagues. We all can learn from each other. It takes humility to do this. It also requires us to engage the other in a relationship. In doing so, we humanize the other. They are not an object to be used but a person created in the image of God with value and worth. We not only honor Christ by valuing the other, but we model Christ by learning from the other.
Bless the other. Through kind words and deeds, we bless the other in Jesus’ name. We wish Christ’s blessing on them and in doing so, we share his love. This opens the door for conversations about Jesus that just may nudge someone to him. It may bring about the transfiguration of the other by Christ.
So we reap what we sow. And karma is a !@#$%.
What letters replace the symbols above? That depends on you and how you value the other. Not just a few types of “others.” But every “other.”