Karma will bite you in the ass!!! This is the thought that came to mind while sitting at my desk, hands on my head, mouth wide open jaw almost on table, reading the story of David, the famine, the Gibeonites and Saul’s descendants in 2 Samuel 21:1-14. Thoughts and questions were flying around in my mind, but the clear exclamation mark was the word… KARMA.

“Karma means action, work or deed and also refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect). Good intent and good deed contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deed contribute to bad karma and future suffering” (wikipedia)

My first big memory of karma was when I was about 12 years old. I remember buying a stolen minidisc player and then selling it for a mark up, making about £20, which was a nice raise in those days, I new it was wrong and it did niggle my conscience, but I shrugged it off. Shortly after, maybe a few weeks, I was doing a deal with someone else where I wanted to buy a pellet gun. I got screwed, I gave the money but didn’t get anything in return, I lost exactly the same amount as I had gained in the past transaction and immediately something came to me with the feeling ‘what goes around comes around!’.

Some would argue that Karma is a load of eastern rubbish and some Christians would say that God’s grace covers us from this kind of thing. But from my personal experience and the bible testimony Karma does seem to be real and it does seem to effect everyone.

In 2 Samuel 21, there is a famine in land, David asks God, why? And God tells him that it is because of what Saul did to the Gibeonites. Notice that David, a righteous man is suffering and God is not answering his prayers on a specific issue because of what someone else has done. David calls the Gibeonites and asks what he can do to pay them back for what Saul had done to them and they ask for the lives of seven of Saul’s descendants. David, gets seven of them, hands them over to the Gibeonites to be executed. Then David gets Saul buried and then after all this God answers the prayers for the land.

Bible sceptics probably having a field day over this one!!! It sounds like God is crazy!!! But hold on, if we look at this with faith, I think we can gather some lessons from this. God would not answer the Israelites prayers for their land because Saul did something evil many years before. This makes me ask myself some serious questions…what have I done in the past that could be hindering my prayers being answered now? And are there things which other people have done in the past which are effecting me?

Two texts come to mind, which help me to understand why this all may have happened.

Mat 5:23,24  So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, (24)  leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God. 

This text is useful for bringing unity between fellow believers, but I also think there are some spiritual laws which are written into this. If we are going to offer a gift to God, it usually involves giving thanks and asking for something. I think God is implying that he cannot answer our prayers in his fullness while we have a wrong relation to someone who also believes in God.  Think about it, how can God answer our prayers while another of his followers is sending up prayers against us. Who’s prayers should God listen to? The effects of our prayers are neutralised by the other persons negative feelings towards us. Therefore, I believe God asks us to sort it out with the person who is sending up negative energy and then come back and our prayers will be effective.

The second example is Zacchaeus, he was a chief tax collector, it is likely that he was being unjust and unfair to the people because they saw him as a great sinner. The first thing Zacchaeus said to Jesus was that he would give half of his money to the poor and would pay back anyone 4 times the amount he had stolen from them. Zacchaeus understood that just being forgiven by God was not enough, but that also it was essential for him to go and do as much as was possible to make his wrong doings right.

I think Zacchaeus’ conversion can ben summarised in this text:

Eze 33:14-16  And if I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but they then turn away from their sin and do what is just and right– (15)  if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil–that person will surely live; they will not die. (16)  None of the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live. 

One of the harsh realities of this world is personal responsibility. Every action we make has an effect, whether for good or for the bad. It is therefore essential to do good, because our actions, will not only impact us, but those around us, now and in the future. The positive thing about this is that God is merciful, so that if we ask him for forgiveness, do all that we can do to make things right (this is often hard work), we can reset things back to neutral.

This brings my mind to the great sacrifice God paid for us. God understood that it would be impossible to just forgive us for our rebellion against him. He could not just get rid of the impact and effects of sin by getting a rubber and erasing the stains. He had to take it all into himself and pay the spiritual consequence of our sin. Separation from God. He therefore sent his son to take this consequence upon himself.

In conclusion, Karma will always come around to either reward or punish us. However, if we have made bad decisions we can minimise the negative consequences (Karma’s bite). The first step is to trust that God has taken control of the spiritual effects of our sin (separation from himself) and fully believe that we can turn back and be in relationship with him. The second thing is that we need to take physical action to do all that we can to neutralise the effects of our actions and therefore undo the damage we have caused. From following these two principles we can be certain that we can gain practical favour in our lives once again.