Religious Reflection: Gospel of Luke,Christianity, Karma

Isaiah 66:10-14
Psalm 66:1-9
Galatians 6:1-16
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Grace, peace, and mercy to you from God the Father, Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

One of my favorite sitcoms to watch is "My Name Is Earl." I think it is extremely silly and while things are stupid in it, it is made to be stupid. You are supposed to be laughing at the total stupidity within it.

The basis of this show is the concept of Karma. Now, Karma isn't a Christian idea. It is a concept found in both Buddhism and Hinduism. Yet, it is hard not to believe in it at times. Then, when such a reading as the one in Galatians occurs, it's hard not to believe in Karma, too.

In "My Name Is Earl," Earl defines Karma as, "You do good things, and good things happen to you. You do bad things, and bad things happen to you."

In Galatians, it states, "You reap what you sow."

Those certainly do sound like the same things!

However, there's one point in Christianity that seems quite important. If we truly reap what is of the Spirit, it may not seem that we are rewarded, but in time, we will be rewarded. Instant gratification is very tempting, to which we may do something that seems to be good at a time, and surely, good things may happen much quicker. However, when it comes to the long run, things won't be good.

I've been having a hard time with being concerned about a friend. I know that I have done some really bad things. I know some really bad things have happened that were beyond my control that I do not understand.

Sure, I'd love to believe that those things that were not so great of me could just be forgotten. However, that's never the case. I know that, too. It is not easy to just simply forget. I don't easily forget things at all.

My friend didn't do anything to really hurt me, though there was a bit that hurt me. It's not really a huge deal, but I do forgive him for what seemed hypocritical to me. It's not really my business. I pray he will forgive me for acting like "a stupid girl," too.

I've had this happen quite a few times, and thankfully my friends have always been able to forgive me. None of us have ever forgotten, though.