Karma or Grace: What Do You Want?

Karma or Grace: What Do You Want? By Rev. Res Spears Many of you have asked recently how my family and I have settled into our new home in Carrollton. We are still clearing out the old place in preparation for putting it on the market, and we spent about six hours there yesterday preparing for an estate sale to clear out decades worth of stuff that we've collected. But I THINK we have moved the last box into the new home. Thankfully, we have a driveway where we can park our cars, because the two-car garage is now full of boxes. Organizing those boxes and putting stuff away will be our next big project after we've finished clearing out the old house. I knew this was going to be a big project, but I confess that I feel overwhelmed each time I walk into that garage and each time I walk into that old house. One step at a time, though, we are coming closer, by the grace of God, to selling the house that my father and I built and ridding ourselves of one of our current mortgage payments. Meanwhile, we are completely happy in our new home. I've got an office with room for all my books and then some. Annette has a space where she can work from home when she needs to do so. Mom has plenty of space to spread out. And I have a great outdoor space where I work than I do in my office. The only drawback we have noticed so far is the traffic on Route 17, which is just a couple of hundred feet from our front door. The entrance to our neighborhood is about a mile from the James River Bridge, and if you're sitting outside, regardless of the hour, you can hear the traffic whizzing by. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, all hurrying to get wherever they're going. And when I say hurrying, I am using classic understatement. Inside the house, it's perfectly quiet, but if you sit outside in our screened porch, you hear it all. You can hear motorcycles flying past our stoplight. You can hear muscle cars drag racing toward the bridge when the light turns green. And as I hear these scofflaws pushing the limits of their vehicles, I often find myself thinking, "Man, I hope they get a ticket." Has that ever happened to you? Someone speeds past you or runs a red light, and you're thinking "Gosh, I hope they get a ticket!" Now, we'd all like to think that we simply want justice - that we want the law to be obeyed and enforced - but the truth of the matter is that most of us want justice for everybody else and grace for ourselves. After all, how many times have we been the ones who have pressed the gas pedal in hopes of beating the red light? How many times have we been the ones who have sped past the car in front of us so we wouldn't be behind him when the lanes merged ahead? The truth is that what we often tend to want in the world is for karma to rule. Karma says that what goes around comes around. Karma says that you get what you deserve - whether good or bad. Karma says that you reap what you sow. Karrma is the basis of most world religions, and karma is functionally how most of us live our lives. If someone hurts us, we cut them off. We unfriend them from Facebook, we stop returning their calls and messages. We may not actively wish for their comeuppance, but we sure are not sorry for them when it happens. They made their bed; now they're going to have to lie in it. Karma seems almost woven into the fabric of the universe. Every action has what? An equal and opposite reaction. That's karma asserting itself in the laws of physics. And as we look at Scripture, we see that karma was the basic understanding most people had of how the world operates - all the way back to the time of Job. Job was written about 400 years before Moses wrote the Pentateuch, the first five books of our Bible, and it records a period in the life of a man who lived sometime between the death of Abraham and the enslavement of the Hebrew people in Egypt. Go ahead and turn in your Bibles to the first chapter of Job, and let's take a look at how the idea of karma - though there wasn't a word for it at the time - colored his faith. Job 1:1-5 NASB95 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, "Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job did continually. Now, what we can tell from this passage is that Job was a morally upright man and that he feared God. Throughout Scripture, this phrase - he feared God - is used to describe someone who genuinely worships the one true God, and that's important to remember here. We can also tell that Job was extremely wealthy and that he was highly respected - the greatest of all the men of the east. What's less certain is WHY Job was so wealthy and well respected. Did he receive his wealth because he was a God-fearing man? Was he a God-fearing man because of his wealth? But we get a clue about Job's theology in verses 4 and 5. When his sons would hold their feasts - with all the eating and drinking and, possibly, carousing - Job would offer sacrifices on their behalf, because maybe they had "sinned and cursed God in their hearts." It's easy to see this as a righteous act, but perhaps there's something more to it. There almost seems to be something transactional in Job's thinking. "If my sons have sinned and I do not sacrifice on their behalf, something bad might happen to them." This is karma, and karma is a big part of this book. Even the devil thinks karma is at work in Job's rich blessings. Let's pick up again in verse 6. Job 1:6-11 NASB95 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it." The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing? "Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. "But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face." So what we see here is that the Accuser - the devil, Satan -accuses Job of worshiping God because of the blessings Job has received. He doesn't question Job's righteousness. Instead he questions Job's motives. Maybe Job loves God because God has given him so much. "[B]ut in an underhanded way the Accuser's charge is also against God for treating Job according to the principle of karma: 'Have you not hedged him in, together with his house and all that he owns- on all sides? You bless every work of his hands', and so on. The mechanistic character of Job's prayers and sacrifices is God's fault, too, because God so consistently rewards him for his supposed integrity." (Jones, Paul Hedley. Job's Way Through Pain : Karma, Cliches and Questions, Authentic Media, 2014. P. 28) And so, you know the story from here. God allows Satan to take away Job's wealth, to kill his servants and his children, and then to take away his health. And then we see Job's so-called friends come around to lift him up. That's what friends are for, right? Well, I hope you don't have friends like this. First, we have Eliphaz, the Temanite. We can see some of his uplifting words in chapter 4. I'll pick up in verse 7. Job 4:7-9 NASB95 "Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed? "According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity And those who sow trouble harvest it. "By the breath of God they perish, And by the blast of His anger they come to an end. What does that sound like to you? Karma. Those who plow iniquity, and those who sow trouble harvest it." You reap what you sow. But what about Job's friend, Bildad? Surely he will see things in a different light. Surely he'll have soothing words for his suffering friend. We hear from Bildad in chapter 8. I'll pick up in verse 4. Job 8:4 NASB95 "If your sons sinned against Him, Then He delivered them into the power of their transgression. Maybe your sons sinned against God and suffered for their transgressions, Bildad says. What does that sound like? Karma. And then Bildad gives Job advice for how he might be restored to the blessings of God. Verse 5. Job 8:5-6 NASB95 "If you would seek God And implore the compassion of the Almighty, If you are pure and upright, Surely now He would rouse Himself for you And restore your righteous estate. If you are pure and upright, surely God will restore your righteous estate. What's that sound like? Karma. In fact, Eliphaz is so convinced that karma is the law of the universe that he says God always punishes the wicked, and he's talking about punishment in this world, not in eternity. Turn to chapter 15, and we'll pick up at verse 20. Job 15:20-25 NASB95 "The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, And numbered are the years stored up for the ruthless. "Sounds of terror are in his ears; While at peace the destroyer comes upon him. "He does not believe that he will return from darkness, And he is destined for the sword. "He wanders about for food, saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that a day of darkness is at hand. "Distress and anguish terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for the attack, because he has stretched out his hand against God And conducts himself arrogantly against the Almighty. So the wicked man has stretched out his hand against God - he has conducted himself arrogantly against the Almighty - and he reaps the consequences of his actions. There is a cause, and there is an effect. But there's a problem with what Eliphaz says, and it's not just the problem of him calling his righteous friend, Job, an evil man. The problem is that what he says isn't true. Bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people. We all know this. Job's friends spend much of the rest of this book talking about how karma reigns, and one of the purposes of this book was to help the people of Israel understand that their relationship with God was not to be a transactional one. It was to be a relationship based on love, not on giving God honor in expectation of receiving rewards. Job's friends were wrong. They were wrong about how to be friends, and they were wrong about the way that God interacts with His creation. And all the way at the end of this book, in chapter 42, we hear God's judgment on their theology. This takes place after God had answered Job's complaints from the whirlwind, after God had scolded Job for the presumptuous way he had demanded that God explain Himself, after Job had finally repented for his presumption and humbled himself before the Lord, and after Job had come to truly understand that God doesn't rule by karma. We'll pick up with verse 7. Job 42:7-8 NASB95 It came about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. "Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has." "I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly." That's what God says to Eliphaz, who has misrepresented the character of God so terribly. In other words, on Job's behalf, God will not deal with Job's friends according to the law of karma, but rather by the law of grace. He will be gracious to them instead of giving them what they deserved. Karma is the way the world works. But God works by grace. Now, I'm going to do something that I don't usually do from the pulpit. I'm going to quote a rock star. I know this will be a stretch for some of you, but others will know the band U2 and its frontman, Bono. If you don't, ask your children, or maybe your grandchildren. Here's what Bono said about karma and grace in an interview from the book Bono on Bono: Conversations with Michka Assayas. "It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the Universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma... You see, at the centre of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics - in physical laws - every action is met by an equal or opposite one. Its clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that 'As you reap, so will you sow' stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff." (Assayas, Michka. Bono. United States: Riverhead Books, 2006. p 225-226) Along comes this idea of grace. Actually, it's not a new idea. It was His grace that led God to clothe Adam and Eve in the skins of animals, the first sacrifice made for man's sins. It was His grace that led Him to expel them from the Garden of Eden before they could eat from the Tree of Life and so seal themselves in their separation from God forever. It was God's grace that led Him to choose Abraham as the father of a nation and as the one through whom all the earth would be blessed. It was His grace that led God to make Israel His chosen people and then lead them into the Promised Land, even though they had been grumblers and idolaters and disobedient servants. It was His grace that led God to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to bring reconciliation between God and sinful man. It was by the grace of God that Jesus took upon Himself the punishment that we all deserve for our sins, dying on that cross at Calvary. It was by God's grace and power that Jesus was raised from the dead and taken back into heaven in the glorified body of the man who had died on that cross. Karma means that we all get what we have coming to us. Karma means that we pay for our sins against the perfect and holy God. Grace says that God paid that price Himself in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Karma says that "those who plow iniquity And those who sow trouble harvest it. By the breath of God they perish, And by the blast of His anger they come to an end." Karma says, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side?" Grace says, "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Karma says that if we go to church and do good things, then God will bless us. But that's bad theology. That's the same theology the older brother had in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. You remember the story. The younger son demanded that his father give him his share of the inheritance. Then he went to a far country and spent it all on wine, women and song. He soon found himself sharing food with the pigs, and he decided to go home and beg forgiveness and a place with the servants in his father's household. But when his father saw him coming down the lane, he ran and hugged his son and gave him a great feast, and a ring, and a robe. That's grace. But his older brother wasn't happy with his father's response, and so he confronted him. Luke 15:29 NASB95 "But he answered and said to his father, 'Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; Do you see the way this older son appeals to karma here? He'd done all these things for his father, and so he DESERVED to have been given a celebration. Jesus told this parable to the Pharisees and scribes who were following Him and complaining that He had been spending His time with sinners, those who were represented by the younger son in this parable. The Pharisees were known for their strict adherence to the Law. They had even added to the Law so that they might not break it. They thought they DESERVED a place in the Kingdom of Heaven. They wanted to be ruled by karma. But Jesus was offering something better. Here's Bono again: "I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I'd be in deep [trouble]. It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That's the point. It should keep us humbled....its not our own good works that get through the gates of heaven... (Assayas, Michka. Bono. United States: Riverhead Books, 2006. p 226) We're going to be talking about this life-giving grace for the next several weeks. Today, as you leave, and as you go about your week, I'd like you to think about how the grace of God reveals itself in your life. I think you will be surprised at some of the ways God shows His extravagant grace. I hope you will be amazed by it. I hope you will be excited by it. I hope you will be utterly transformed by it. I hope you will rejoice that we serve a God who does not work according to the law of karma but the law of grace. He does not give us what we deserve; rather, He gives us what we could never deserve. As the Psalmist wrote: Psalm 103:10-11 NASB95 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. How great a love He has for us. How awesome is His grace! Page . Exported from Logos Bible Software, 1:21 AM July 19, 2020.