The Problem of KARMA
Gladstone Baptist Church – 11/2/07 am
Karma doesn’t apply to the Calamities of life OOPS
I don’t know how many of you have ever watched the show My Name is Earl. I’ve watched it a couple of times and I am not condoning or supporting everything in it, but I’ve gotten a laugh out of some of the situations Earl finds himself in. It is a show about a bit of a drop kick called Earl, who thinks that all the bad luck of life is coming his way because of Karma. In short, his life sucks because of all the bad things he has done in the past. Karma is after him and to escape from its clutches, he has to undo the bad he’s done. So he makes a huge list of all the things he has done wrong and embarks on a journey to appease karma. And so begins the wacky ride of My Name is Earl. Here is the Show Intro where Earl explains why he is doing what he is doing …
Sounds a bit crazy doesn’t it. Karma and all that. I mean it’s okay for Earl – He’s a bit of an odd ball. But would you be surprised if I heard that the Jews believed this same thing - Though they would not have used the term Karma. Open up your bibles with me to Luke 13. Jesus has just been talking to the crowd about being ready for his second coming, for his judgment and some in the crowd turn to him and tell him some horrific news.
13 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8 ”‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”
It seems that some Galileans had gone down to Jerusalem for some reason and while they were there, they went to offer sacrifices to God. Galileans were renowned as a bit of revolutionary group – In Jn 1:45, Nathaniel doubted that any good could come out of Galilee. In Jn 7:52 the Jewish leaders were of the opinion that Galilee could never produce someone worthy enough to be a prophet. Jesus was held in suspicion because he was a Galilean and as were this group who’d gone to Jerusalem.
We don’t know any more details than what is in this passage, but somehow, this group of Jesus’ countrymen had upset Pilate – the Roman Governor in Jerusalem. Pilate was a ruthless man and was quick to squash any sort of rebellion. He apparently had these Galileans murdered as they were taking a sacrifice to the temple. To any Jew, such a heavy handed action from their Roman overlords would have made them angry, but that it was done while these men were on their way to the temple to offer sacrifices would have been disgusting.
But their anger wasn’t why this matter was brought up with Jesus. The underlying assumption being made here by the Jews was that the Galileans who died and suffered must have deserved it. They must have sinned somehow. The Jews you see believed in Karma just like Earl does. Oh – they wouldn’t have used this term, but they understood the concept. People who suffer must have sinned and their suffering is part of God’s punishment.
In John 9:1 we see this was a belief that even Jesus’ disciples held. This is what we read in John 9:1-3
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
Jesus says to his disciples that the blind man’s blindness wasn’t a result of anyone’s sin. He says the same thing about the Galileans. They didn’t get killed because of anything they had done wrong. In Vs 2, Jesus says …
“Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no!
Jesus reinforces this by referring to another calamity they were all familiar with – a tower had collapsed in Siloam and 18 people had died. They didn’t die as a result of their sin. It was an unfortunate accident. Jesus is essentially saying that Karma isn’t an explanation of the catastrophes we see in life. The people who were killed in the Tsumani a couple of years ago didn’t deserve it because they were bad people. The people who are blown up by suicide bombers are not any worse than you or I. Karma doesn’t cause catastrophes.
Now don’t mishear me here. Jesus is is not talking about cause & effect situations here. Some catastrophe’s are the result of our actions … You know – you punch a guy and he punches you back. That’s not Karma – that is cause and effect. You jump off a roof and you break your ankle. That’s not Karma – that is cause and effect.
But Karma does relate in some way to our eternal lives. Repentance can impact our eternal destiny. UGH
What is Karma? Karma in the Hindu and Buddhist thinking is the concept that underpins their belief in reincarnation. Karma says that your actions within one life flow determine what your next life will be like. So if you have been good, you will be rewarded by having a better next life which brings you closer to escaping from the treadmill of reincarnation. If you have been evil in this life, you can expect your next life to be a life of suffering or come back as an animal that is despised in some way.
Reincarnation is definitely not a biblical concept. We don’t keep coming back as different life forms. The bible says in Heb 9:27 that we live once and die once and then we face judgement which will determine our eternal destiny. No coming back as a rat or a cow or a pig or a priest. Jesus doesn’t believe in reincarnation and neither should we.
So Jesus doesn’t believe in Karma as the Hindus and Buddhist understand – that it affects your next life. Jesus doesn’t even believe in Karma as Earl understands it – that it affects your current life. Mind you - Hindus or Buddhists wouldn’t accept Earl’s understanding of Karma either. They believe Karma affects the next life, not your current life – so poor old Earl has a bit of a mixed up understanding of Karma. He is probably trying to express that old adage “What goes around, comes around” or “you reap what you sow.”
But that aside, I think that Jesus teaches here that while Karma isn’t a valid explanation for calamities we face on this earth, something like “Karma” does come into play in our eternal lives. Now I am wary to use the term “Karma” here because some of you will say I believe in the Karma of the Hindus and Buddhists. I don’t. I believe we will only live once.
But I believe, like Jesus, that your choices on this earth will determine your eternal destiny. Call it Karma if you like, or call it choices. What you do here on earth, will determine how you spend your next life (and your next life just happens to be an eternal one).
Jesus makes this plain in vs 3 – “But unless you repent, you too will all perish” And again he says it in vs 5 - “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” I want you to also know that both of these sentences should read “You too will all perish in a similar way”. Jesus isn’t threatening that everyone who doesn’t repent will be murdered by Roman soldiers or have towers fall on them. But what he is saying, is that those who don’t repent will meet with a horrible and untimely death.
Why Horrible? Because it will usher them into the judgment seat of God and from there they will be sentenced to an eternity separated from God and all that is good. We call that place Hell and it is not a place you want to be. It is not a place of fun with your mates – it is a place of punishment and torment and suffering and rejection and loneliness. The death of an unrepentant man, woman or child will be a horrible death.
It will also be untimely – Why untimely? Because they missed out on the chance to repent and get right with God. Theirs will be a tale of opportunities missed. Their death will be horrible and untimely.
But we will only face this if we have chosen not to repent in our lives. That is where “Karma” comes into play. Your choice in this life determines the character of your eternal life. The key question for your life now is whether you will repent or not.
What is repentance? - AHA
What is repentance? Repentance is us doing a U-turn. It is realising that we are heading in the wrong direction and deciding to turn around and start moving in the right direction.
Repentance is a blanket term which covers a once off decision as well as a daily or really a continuous commitment. Let’s look at these two aspects of repentance.
Repentance involves a once off decision. It involves us deciding at some point in our lives that we need to follow Jesus. Before that, we were following our own desires or following our friends. We were on the throne of our lives and we were controlling our destiny – and we were – but not how we thought. By our choices or lack of them, we would be judged and then welcomed into heaven or condemned to hell. We are in control of our destiny thorough the choice or non-choice we make. If we are to avoid the certainty of hell, at some point, we need to repent – to decide to step off the throne of our lives and invite Jesus to come and sit on the throne of our lives. That is a big decision isn’t it, because if Jesus is now on the throne, he has the right to expect your allegiance and obedience. Are you willing to do that? It will cost you everything, but the flip side of the coin – you will gain everything for eternity!!! That is repentance and it is a once of decision which changes our destiny for eternity. If you haven’t made this decision, you need to – don’t risk dying a horrific and untimely death because you chose to put off this decision to a more convenient time. Come and see me after the service and I’d love to sit down with you and show you how to make that U-turn in your life.
But there is another aspect of repentance – it is a continuous turning. We are creatures of habit and although we desire to follow Christ, we find it very hard to live out his standards in our lives. Our natural inclination is to slip back into our old sinful habits. So on a daily basis or even more often as we catch ourselves doing something we know is wrong – we need to stop and repent – do that U-turn and begin to live out a Christ like life again. Some of us men have a problem with our imaginations – we let our imaginations feed our sexual desires. We need to catch ourselves in the act and repent and make a u-turn in our thinking - think on God honouring things instead of sexual images. Some of us here have problems with being overly critical or judgmental – we need to catch ourselves, repent and make a u-turn in the attitude department of our lives. Some of us here have problems with being selfish and lazy – we are happy to let others do everything for us while we sit around and enjoy life – we need to catch ourselves, repent and make a u-turn and get off our butt and help others around us. This sort of repenting is a continual process isn’t it. It deals with our weaknesses and faces off against Satan’s guerrilla warfare tactics that aim to constantly trip us up. We need repenting right through the day.
Repentance is crucial. WHEE
Jesus warns his listeners, that repentance was the difference between perishing and or not. He told them “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” I want to tell each of you sitting here the same thing. “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Your eternal destiny is not dependant on whether you do good or bad as Earl thinks. It is dependant upon whether you repent or not. Do you know that you are headed for heaven here today? If not, you need to repent.
Do you know that God is sitting there patiently waiting for you to repent, but he can’t wait for ever. Jesus ends his little discussion here by telling a little parable to his listeners …
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
The owner of the vineyard who we can rightly identify as God had a fig tree in his vineyard – a bit odd, but provided the fig tree was bearing good fruit, it could justify the valuable space it took up. But this fig tree wasn’t bearing fruit. It was presumably a mature tree, because the owner had expected fruit on it for 3 years, but had been disappointed and He was losing patience.
We think that God is infinitely patient with those who are lost, don’t we. But this is not the picture of God that Jesus paints here. He paints a picture of a God that gives unbelievers a more than fair chance to repent and bear good fruit, but after a reasonable time, he is ready to wield the axe. His patience is not infinite, it is limited.
The Fig tree was in good soil. It should have responded with fruit, but it didn’t and the owner’s response was – cut it down – it has had its chance – it is just taking up precious resources and my patience. There are some people (and I shiver to think that some might be sitting here this morning) that are like this fig tree. They are in good soil and should by all reasoning have responded to the gospel in repentance, but they haven’t. They are testing God’s patience and need to be careful that they don’t push it too far. God is patient but not eternally patient.
But it is interesting that the vinedresser interceded for the fig tree
8 ”‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”
Even though the fig tree had been given a reasonable opportunity to bear fruit, the owner (God) in his Grace. gives it yet another year – See God is patient – not wanting any man to perish. Jesus intercedes for us and by his Spirit, he ministers in the lives of those who need to repent. This fourth year the vinedresser focuses even more attention on it. He fertilises it and aerates the soil. If this tree were to respond to the message of the gospel, it would be now.
But notice that the judgement is not cancelled or put off indefinitely – it is just postponed. At the end of a 4th unfruitful year, the tree will be cut down if it continues to not bear fruit.
This is a frightening warning isn’t it that God’s patience is limited. He is looking for people who have repented.
Repentance is visible in our fruit. - YEAH
But how do we know if people have repented? That’s easy – they are bearing fruit. The fig tree wasn’t bearing fruit and that was the sign that it was destined for destruction. We also are called to bear fruit. Fruit that is worthy of God.
When we speak of bearing fruit – our minds go straight to the Fruit of the Spirit of Gal 5 - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. But fruit of repentance can be seen in our attitudes, our actions and our speech. It is seen in how we help others out. It is seen in our speech. It is seen in whether we keep our promises. It is seen in how we treat our work colleagues or neighbours. It is seen in our relationships with our family and friends.
Your fruit (attitudes, actions & speech) should be undeniable proof to those around you that you have repented and that you are living a Christ centred life. Are they? Do a mental checklist for me of the people you come into contact with …
- Do the people who live around you – your neighbours – know you are a Christian by your fruit?
- Do your work mates know you are a Christian by observing your fruit?
- Do your family members know you are a Christian by observing your fruit?
- Do your friends know you are a Christian by observing your fruit?
Or do these people laugh and think “They say they are a Christian, but they certainly don’t act like one. By their fruit you will know them.
If not, it is likely that you haven’t repented. You may be a Christian, but you are not repenting daily and living a life that is honouring God and one day you will be brought to account for that.
Jesus desires people who have discovered the secret of repentance. Such people are living lives that are bearing much fruit. Are you bearing fruit of repentance?
Some would say that Earl is bearing fruit of repentance. He says that he is “just trying to be a better person”. But his motivation is to stop the effects of Karma by trying to do more good than bad. His motive is to stop bad things happening to him, but unfortunately, he hasn’t yet discovered repentance is the key to preventing bad Karma in his eternal life – the life that really matters. Without repentance, he will still die a horrible and untimely death.
Unfortunately, Earl is a bit mixed up. Unlike Earl, the Fruit that we are called to bear is not a means to an end, but the end result of our decision to live for God. Doing Good is not about earning brownie points, but about seeking to live a life that pleases God. God is patiently waiting for you to repent and begin bearing fruit for him. Please don’t make him wait too long.
