Your focus is OFF
A few years ago, I picked up a new hobby. I started taking photos. Though I was familiar with a camera once, I began taking it more seriously. I learned how much I didn’t know—or maybe better said, how little I actually did. I learned about exposure, ISO, and shutter speed, which make up the exposure triangle. I learned how to better formulate my shots so that my images would look more professional.
One of the most important things, if not the most important thing in photography, is that your images be in focus. If your focus is off, the image will look blurry. It doesn’t matter if it’s the most important image in the history of humanity—if it’s not in focus, it’s no good.
When it comes to the spiritual teachings of this world, the idea of karma is one that is out of focus. What I mean by that is it doesn’t offer us the full picture. Now, maybe you’re thinking, Wait, David, isn’t karma in the Bible?
As we’ve already discussed in this series, what God creates, Satan loves to counterfeit. Throughout Scripture, the idea or principle of sowing and reaping is seen. Perhaps it is no more clearly seen than in Galatians 6:7 (yes, I am aware):
Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows, he will also reap.
There’s a big difference between karma and sowing and reaping. While they might seem similar, karma is focused on the downfall of others and the exaltation of ourselves. The principle of sowing and reaping is focused on trusting God in the process, no matter what it looks like. I want to challenge us to remember what we deserve. Let God’s grace push us forward and trust Him with the end.
So how do we get our focus right when it comes to the idea of karma or sowing and reaping?
1. Focus on the Work Inside Ourselves
In Galatians 6:3–4, the apostle Paul encourages the church to worry about themselves. Sometimes we think we know what other people deserve—and in doing so, we show that we haven’t thought about what we truly deserve.
On our own, we are all separated from God and sinful, deserving of death. But God made a way for us to be reunited to Him through Jesus.
Before we worry about someone being paid back for what they did or didn’t do, we should ask ourselves questions like:
Am I living honestly? Am I loving others? Am I serving Jesus? Am I doing what I should?
When we get mad because someone cheats on something and succeeds, we should consider: Are we angry because we hate the act of cheating, or because we wish we could have gotten away with it like they did?
We need to examine the work in our own lives. People live in bitterness, waiting on something bad to happen to someone else, or they let anger rule their life while waiting for karma to come around. But we need to worry about ourselves. The devil loves to distract us with comparison.
How can we be people who get jealous or bitter at someone else’s outcome or pray on someone else’s downfall when everything we have is a gift from God? We need to focus on the work of God in our own lives and grow in obedience to what He calls us to do.
2. Trust That It Will Work Out
Romans 8:28 reminds us:
“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
God is in control. It’s not our job to manipulate outcomes or hope for the downfall of others. We can trust God. Someone who puts their hope in karma is someone who believes they know better than God. I’ve got good news—you're not God, and neither am I. That should be a relief. But that also means we need to choose to trust Him.
We choose to trust God in our work. We choose to live lives that will honor Him. We choose to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him. We do this trusting that He will work all things together—not us. We simply do the right thing with what He has placed in our hands.
We also choose to give Him the results. If there is glory, we return it to God. If our enemies fail, we don’t rejoice over them, as Proverbs 24:17 tells us. No matter the outcome here on earth, we trust God and depend on Him to make all things right in His time.
