Karma is the popular notion that we all get what we deserve. The word comes from Hindu philosophy. In Hindu philosophy, the notion of Karma is a detailed and complicated belief about how the world fundamentally works. But when we encounter the notion of Karma is it usually just a sloppy notion that “what does around comes around.” However just because our notion of karma lacks philosophical sophistication does not mean that it lacks power. And it pops up a lot in conversations and books in a way that convinces me that lots of people have some vague belief in karma.

Now, for the purpose of clarity let me explain. It is not karma to recognize that many patterns of behavior have likely consequences. The proverb, “he who lives by the sword will die by the sword” is not promoting karma or divine justice, rather it is recognizing that a violent lifestyle usually has a violent end. In the movies, mafia leaders are occasionally arrested, but most of them are killed long before that happens.

Karma shows up when people offer this assurance, “Don’t worry, they will get what they deserve.” The problem with this is two-fold. First, it is problematic because it contradicts reality. Many people do not get what they deserve. On both sides of the ledger, the world is not fair. Good hard-working people regularly find themselves down and out through no fault of their own. Cheats and liars regularly find themselves doing quite well. Let’s face it, with a few brains, lots of selfishness and no scruples a person can do quite well in this world, and quite often nice guys do finish last. So this first problem is a pragmatic one: People in fact frequently do not get the comeuppance they deserve.

The second problem with teachers and books that promote a karmic perspective is that this directly contradicts the gospel. At the heart of the gospel is the proclamation, “You don’t have to get what you deserve. What you deserve is precisely what is not coming to you in this life, and if you trust God is doesn’t have to come to you in the next life.”

So there is no divine balance that is achieved. Jerks often just go on being jerks and get farther and farther ahead. Crooked politicians retire with fat bank accounts and powerful friends. The rich cheat to get ahead and buy their way out of their crimes with good lawyers. And in the end, some of those same people who cheated to get ahead in life will fall on their face and beg God for mercy and they will be forgiven of all that stuff.

So forget karma. As much I sometimes with it was true in the real world (and not just romantic comedies) it just isn’t. But the good news is one better.

Not karma, but instead grace.

on the walk

-Ethan

If a book or preacher teaches a worldview or a doctrine that does not call you any sort of sacrifice then it is not biblical. Jesus offers grace as we die to ourselves. He offers us himself as a sacrifice for our forgiveness and calls us to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice as an act of worship to him.

So if you are reading something that teaches you how to get, and get, and get some more and never calls you to sacrifce, well then it may seem like good advice, and you may want to follow it, but don’t pretend it is Christian.

on the walk

-Ethan

For instance Jesus makes this promise in Matthew 10:18-20,

On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Now that is an amazing promise, but it isn’t exactly the promise I would have asked for. I might have preferred this promise, “Don’t worry, they won’t arrest you” or maybe, “Don’t worry about what to say, just pass out fliers.”

Because Jesus promises aren’t always the promises that we would have hoped for there is plenty of room for books that pretend to be faithful to scripture to instead offer all kinds of false promises and this tendency is one of the best ways to spot heresy.

My general rule of thumb is this, if they make a promise that didn’t come true for the Apostle Paul then they are lying. (You can check out his life by reading Acts – Philemon.) Since I don’t have time to retell his whole life in this post, I will give you a few examples.

Here are a few things that Paul did not always have

1. Health
2. Financial Prosperity (or even basic needs some days)
3. Wife
4. Freedom from Persecution
5. Freedom from sin
6. Peace in his relationships
7. Peaceful death
8. Appreciation for his ministry
9. Acceptance by other church leaders
10. I could go on….

So if any book or radio preacher promises any of those things they are lying. If someone promises that by sending them $100 God will bless you with $1000, they are lying. If someone promises that by living a certain way or praying a certain way you can live a life free from pain and suffering they are lying. If someone writes a book and promises that God wants you to have a happy comfortable financially prosperous life, then you should just say to them, “How do you know. God did not want that for Paul and most of the other people in the Bible. What makes you think God wants that for me.”

If some book or preacher quotes scripture as if those texts are making promises for you that weren’t promises for Paul then they have some explaining to do. Don’t tell me Paul just didn’t pray hard enough.

on the walk

-Ethan

Before I get to my first test, I want to clarify. I certainly read plenty of books that are not written by Christians. In fact books that are written on clearly secular topics or books that are clearly opposed to scripture are rarely problematic in this regard. In these cases the contrast is so obvious that subtle discernment is rarely needed. The kinds of books that give us trouble are those that are trying to teach us how to live : Leadership books, Self-help books, and a host of other that offer advice about who we are as humans and how we ought to live. It is for these books that we must exercise great discernment. We shouldn’t be bitter of course. Why would we expect books by non-Christians to have a Christian view. The problem is when we miss the fact that they have a non-Christian view and we let their view influence our thinking.
So let’s get to it.

The first test is Lordship.

According to scripture, Jesus is Lord. We recall this in our confession of faith: “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and I accept him as my Lord and Savior.” This is major theme of the book of Colossians. In there case the most significant claim to be a counter Lord was the Roman Empire. This theological counter to nationalism is still important in our culture but the claim of Lordship that is in this text is much stronger than that. Here is an example.

[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Colossians 1:15-18

So if I read a book that either directly suggests that Jesus is one of many gods that is a pretty obvious sign. If a self-help book suggests that meeting my inner needs is the most important thing or that making money is the most important things or that financial security is the most important thing those books are teaching heresy. Any book that does anything do diminish the Lordship of Christ is a book that we should handle with care.
Now of course we may still learn other things from these books. For instance, most financial planning books have a non-Christian view of wealth because they simple aren’t aware that for a Christian, all we have is given over to God and therefore we should use our money for God’s purposes. But just because they have a view of wealth that ignores Christ’s Lordship that doesn’t mean that we can’t get all kinds of good advice about the difference between leasing and buying. But we must be careful while we are learning about small-cap funds that we are not also absorbing the underlying ideas.

Because the Christian view on this issue is so extreme, this is a pretty important test. Scripture teaches is the supreme Lord of everything, so we should question anything that encourages us to serve any other Lord or devalues to Jesus to one among equals. Since this series was in part prompted by the surprising interest that some Christians have had in Tolle’s book The New Earth, I decided that I would take a look at it and see how far I had to read before the Lordship test was flagged. So I looked on Amazon and they allow you to read the first chapter as a sample. I only had to read two pages. On the second page he writes, “Jesus tells us to contemplate the flowers and learn from them how to live. The Buddha is said to have given a “silent sermon” during which he held up a flower and gazed at it.” Now if those two sentences were from a paper in a college comparative religions class on the ways that flowers were referenced in world religions, they would be fine. But it isn’t. These sentences are part of argument of some sort and what I immediately noticed is that Jesus and Buddha get equal showing. I no longer have to wonder if this book is compatible with Christianity or not. Our claims are extreme and this is not. If you have any doubt, go read that quote above from Colossians.

So that is the first test. Lordship. If it suggests that anything else is an equal Lord to Christ or is a greater Lord well then that book ain’t Christian. There are more tests to come, but this one is pretty useful.

Lordship

on the walk

-Ethan