What’s up with the whole karma thing? It’s getting a lot of mention lately. So, I’ve been thinking about it. I saw the recent movie with Julia Roberts, “Eat, Pray, Love”. I’m all for finding peace in your life. I like to eat, I pray every chance I get and my life is so full of love that at times it overwhelms me.

What leads people to the idea of karma? Some people don’t delve enough into the belief of karma to learn that it is actually based on the idea of past and future lives. They seem to have decided (for convenience, I suppose) that what you do in this life leads to what you get in this life. Somehow they justify it in their minds. Either way, whether you did something in this life or a past life – karma says whatever you get = you deserve it.

The whole idea of karma is so foul to me.

For instance, let’s take the ‘karma’ idea - that what you have done in a past life depicts how you are treated in this life.

So, a couple of your friends have a baby and the sweet little baby is born with a heart defect. Do you really think to yourself that this couple must deserve to have a baby that may likely survive only a few hours or days because of something that they may have done in a previous life? Is that justified in your mind and in your heart? What about the baby? This little innocent life has done something in a past life that means it must deserve to suffer. Is that what you think? If that baby dies do you go to your friends, the parents, and remind them that they must somehow deserve to suffer the loss of this child? Your friends will never be the same and will suffer this loss for the rest of their lives. Can you be that great friend who reminds them this is the way it’s supposed to be - because they deserve it?

I really hope not.

How about - let’s say your sister has a son who is severely injured while serving in the military. She is devastated and heartbroken for the loss her child is suffering. He will never be the same. What if he becomes an invalid at this very young age due to his injuries? The entire family is jolted by the sudden change. It’s likely that his Mother and Father will spend the rest of their lives helping to care for him. Do you help out by reminding them that they deserve this? If he was fortunate to have already had a wife and children before his injuries, are you sure they all deserve this too? Are you so confident in your belief in karma that you don’t shed a tear for those you love, but instead find comfort and joy in knowing that they will all be better in their next life for having gone through this - because they deserve it?

What if that baby or that son in one of the examples above was your own child? Would it ease your heart to think or to have someone remind you that you deserve it?

But in this blog, I’ve committed to it being about child support issues. I’d be remiss if I didn’t use an appropriate example.

A parent who has custody of their child from their previous marriage who jockeys or manipulates for an advantageous position with the children’s affections or in a courtroom …. hhmmmmm…. wanna go there? Does a child who has grown up without a father need to believe that they deserved to be treated that way because of something they’ve done? hhmmmmm… that’s just wrong.

Wow. I could go a long way with this one, but I won’t - because you don’t deserve it.

So, is there anything in your life that you have gone thru in the past or are now going thru that just didn’t seem fair or right to you? Do you spend your life attempting to turn it around to something that you believe is fair? Can you keep going at it until you get what you believe you deserve? If you really believe in karma, you’ve already gotten what you deserve. Why continue to fight it? Do you accept your belief in karma and live happily and contently with knowing that you deserved exactly what you’ve gotten?

Karma is an explanation of convenience that most people will use to justify what they do not understand. It is an unjustifiable circle of uncertainty. It has a figurative stench so foul that most people only dabble in it when it suits their purpose.
If you really believe in something, shouldn’t you put your whole self into it and not just resort to it when it’s convenient?

Today’s society tends to accept small aspects of many religions which they decide is suitable to their lifestyle. I believe it’s a very big mistake. Belief - Faith - cannot be whatever you decide is correct by picking and choosing which works in your lifestyle. Your lifestyle should be dictated by your beliefs, not choosing beliefs that fit your lifestyle. Listen to your heart and live by your beliefs. If you justify your beliefs by what life has dealt you - as in karma – and then insist that life or other people have been unfair to you and have mistreated you – then you are completely missing the point of karma. That’s why there will be no peace when attempting to justify life with karma.

By no stretch of imagination, do I consider myself an authority on anything. I do, however, believe in God. I know that life has a purpose that is bigger than me. God has a plan. I’m good with that. God is good. He does not punish me in this world for what I have done or not done. He has assured me that I am forgiven through the life and death of his only son, Jesus… and you too, if you choose to accept it. He has offered me choices which are my responsibility to make in a way that glorifies Him. He has directed me to be Christlike and live a life of service to Him and to others – which includes my responsibility to forgive and to love others. Sometimes I do okay at it. Other times, I fail miserably and I seek His forgiveness.

Believing in karma would be like believing that you should never apologize… like there is no such thing as the possibility of doing something wrong because someone out there deserves the consequences of the choices you made - which completely eliminates the act of forgiveness. Who could possibly… truly believe in their heart… that they have never done anything wrong?!? I don’t buy it and I pray that you don’t, too. If you had never known sadness, how would you know if you were ever happy? If you never know forgiveness, how could you know real love?

What I know, is that this world has evil in it. It solidifies my faith. I do not pretend to believe that anyone deserves what evil does. Contrarily, what evil does is an attempt to make you believe that you are not valuable, you aren’t loved or that you have no choice but to sin. It blinds you from truth, leading to a life of grief and discontent. All in an attempt to pull you further away from God. Only God can take what evil has done and make it into something good. And He does every day.

My wish for you today… is that you find it in your heart to apologize when you should, always forgive, love everybody and seek Him.

http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/?p=4511