THIS IS THE RESULT OF A HAPPY LIFE.

By Robin Schumacher, Exclusive Columnist Monday, January 15, 2024

"Look, this is what happens when you live a good life,” my father said when he found a parking space near the store he was going to.

Do you feel that way? That I would benefit if I were a "good" person? Honestly, it's just the two of us talking here, and I'm not going to tell anyone else about it.

I'm sure you do, at least occasionally; I know I do from time to time, but, as Barney Fife said, I'm better at catching myself and biting into it in the first place.

It is very common and can be found in many religious teachings, including the concept of causality about Hindu karma, known as "cause and effect". "Whatever deeds he does, he will reap," says the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, one of The Hindu scriptures.

Some of the same things stated in the Bible seem familiar now, don't they? For example, Paul said: "Do not be deceived, the Lord is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows his own flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but he who sows the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit" (Galatians 6:7-8). He also said, "Now I say, he who sows little will also reap little, and he who sows abundantly will also reap good."

Does Paul—or the Bible as a whole-say the same thing about karma as what Hinduism says? That won't happen by a long shot.

Better life

Most religions use one of three approaches to addressing the problem of good and evil in human life: epistemic, pragmatic, or existential. Some religions combine both or all three.

The epistemic route says that you have to learn something to get better, while the existential route says that you have to experience something to get better.

However, the most common of the three is the pragmatic path, which states that if you act well, they will return to you in some way, both in this life and in the future. Hindu Karma specifically states that doing good in this life will improve one's quality of life while reincarnating. 

As Christians, we understand this as a plan to protect working people. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and it is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one can boast", says the Holy Scripture in Ephesians 2:8-9.

In addition, it is important to remember that Christian theology focuses on ontology rather than epistemic, pragmatic, or existential. Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Christian faith.

Because the Bible says," Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ "(Ephesians 1:3, with my emphasis), true" goodness " comes to us through his actions. 

Therefore, it goes without saying that the emerging teachings, such as the principle of causality and karma, are very different from those that exist in Christianity. Because "bad" karma is distinct from sin against a holy God, the doctrine of karma is not a mere judgment as found in the Bible. Moreover, no decision made by any divine entity should result in a person's karma.

Moreover, as we can see from the study of the Scriptures, the most pious people in the Bible, that is, those who "lived a good life", often experienced the most suffering and difficulties, with Jesus as the most obvious example. In Mark's account of the baptized Jesus, where he then says "immediately" (1:12) that after that, Christ was sent into his long trial with the devil, is a case study of good works that cannot be punished.

Biblical concepts are less popular in today's world. A. W. Tozer says in his essay "The Ministry of the Night" that "the kind of Christianity that is now in Vogue does not include anything as serious as this."Most likely, modern Christians are looking for peace of mind and spiritual joy, along with a good level of material prosperity as external evidence of Divine Mercy.

Instead, Jesus himself rejects the whole concept of "negative" karma in an event recounted by Luke. Some of those present at the time told him of a Galilean whose blood was mixed with Pilate's sacrifice. Jesus asked them, "do you think that because they suffered this fate, these Galileans sinned more than all the other Galileans?"I have told you that no; however, if you do not repent, you will all also perish. Or do you consider that the eighteen who struck the tower in Siloam and killed them were worse than all the people who lived in Jerusalem? (Luke 13: 1-5) " no, I say to you, but if you do not repent, you will all also perish."

The essence of the mentality "if I live a good life, then a good life will come back to me" and the belief that work is the best way to get salvation is the danger. Since we are only "justified as Grace by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24), that is clearly not true.

My father wasn't wrong about many things, but he was wrong about getting a parking space close because he was considered virtuous. Instead, we should consider ourselves blessed because God is "good to the ungrateful and evil" (Luke 6:35), like all of us.

Therefore, someone once said, " the question is not why good people experience bad things, but the real question is why good people experience good things."

Robin Schumacher is an outstanding software executive and Christian advocate. He has written numerous articles, authored and contributed to several Christian books, appeared on nationally syndicated radio programs, and appeared on apologetic shows. He has a Bachelor of Science in business, a master's in Christian apologetics, and a Ph.D. in the New Testament. His latest book, a Confident Faith: winning people to Christ with the apologetics of the Apostle Paul, is his latest book.

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