Grace Broke The Scales

The Story: Earning Points with God

A few years ago I was standing in line at the grocery store with one item—a loaf of bread.

The lady in front of me had about 200.

You know that line you always pick because it looks fast but somehow turns into a hostage situation?

So I’m standing there while she rifles through her purse like she’s digging for gold.

Finally she says, “Just a minute, I have a rewards card.”

Out comes a stack of plastic—gym cards, gas cards, coffee cards, frozen-yogurt punch cards—she’s swiping like she’s trying to earn heaven one barcode at a time.

The cashier smiles and says, “Ma’am, this one’s expired.”

She freezes.

“Expired? But I’ve been saving those points for years!”

As I watched her, it hit me: that’s religion without grace.

Always trying to rack up enough points before the card expires.

And the sad thing is, we’ve all stood at that counter.

We think if we’re kind enough, patient enough, vegetarian enough, doctrinally correct enough, something will finally swipe.

Maybe we’ll hear a beep from heaven that says, “Approved.”

But grace doesn’t work on a points system.

Grace throws away the scanner and says, “It’s already paid.”

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The Human Ledger

Every culture has its version of the cosmic scorecard.

The ancients called it karma.

Moderns call it justice or balance.

We even say, “What goes around comes around.”

Karma sounds fair, but fair isn’t enough—because if the universe gives us exactly what we deserve, we’re all in trouble.

Romans 6:23 says it bluntly:

> “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Karma gives wages; grace gives gifts.

Karma says, “You earned this.”

Grace says, “You can’t earn this.”

If karma is a mirror, grace is a window.

One shows you yourself; the other shows you God.

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The Problem with Keeping Score

Have you noticed how exhausting it is to keep score with God?

We start each day like accountants: “I prayed; that’s a plus. I snapped at someone; that’s a minus.”

We tally our deeds like spiritual calories, always checking if we’re under the limit.

But Ephesians 2:9 says salvation is “not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

The gospel ends the competition.

Grace levels the field, then lifts the fallen.

Here’s the irony:

The Pharisees were masters at the point system.

They tithed mint and dill and cumin.

They had theological punch cards for everything.

But when grace showed up wearing sandals, they called Him a lawbreaker.

They couldn’t handle a God who would rather forgive than grade.

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The Gift that Breaks the Ledger

Let’s read Titus 3:5 together:

> “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”

Paul couldn’t say it clearer if he tried.

Mercy is God’s motive; grace is His method; renewal is His miracle.

We bring the mess—He brings the mercy.

We bring the debt—He brings the deletion.

Every other religion teaches you how to climb up.

The gospel tells you how God came down.

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Enter the Spoken Word – “Karma Was My Old Dogma.”

> Karma keeps receipts.

Every word, every thought, every stumble

scribbled on the universe’s clipboard.

Do wrong, pay later.

Do right, maybe balance the scales—

but never break even.

Karma says, “You earned this.”

Grace says, “I took this.”

Karma is math.

Grace is music.

One counts what you owe;

the other sings what’s been paid.

Karma chases you down the road.

Grace runs ahead and builds you a home.

Karma whispers, “Try harder.”

Grace shouts, “It is finished!”

Karma ends in exhaustion.

Grace begins in resurrection.

So yes—

I used to believe in karma’s symmetry,

but now I live in grace’s scandal.

The scales have been shattered by a cross,

and mercy has written the last equation.

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Grace Breaks the Scales

When Jesus cried “It is finished,” He wasn’t sighing in defeat.

He was announcing the end of scorekeeping.

The temple veil tore not only top to bottom, but heaven to earth.

The balance sheet closed, the ledger burned, and the accountant resigned.

Grace broke the scales.

Think about the cross mathematically:

One infinite righteousness weighed against the combined guilt of the world.

Result? The scale tips permanently toward mercy.

That’s why Paul could write in Romans 5:20,

> “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”

Grace doesn’t just meet sin—it overwhelms it.

It’s not a fair trade; it’s a divine overthrow.

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The Broken Scale Illustration

I keep a little balance scale in my office—the kind jewelers use.

One day a student knocked it off my desk.

When I picked it up, the arms were bent, and no matter what I did, it leaned to one side.