Do you believe in karma?

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Not really. At least, not in the way people usually mean it.

We tend to use “karma” as shorthand for the idea that people eventually get what they deserve. Do something good, and good things come back to you. Do something rotten, and sooner or later the universe sends the bill.

It’s a satisfying idea. It’s also not exactly biblical.

The Bible does teach something that can sound a little like karma. Galatians 6:7 says, “whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” Proverbs is filled with reminders that wise choices tend to produce better outcomes than foolish ones. Treat people badly long enough and relationships usually suffer. Live recklessly and eventually the odds may catch up with you.

But that’s not the same thing as saying the universe operates like some giant moral vending machine.

Insert one good deed, receive one blessing. Insert one terrible decision, wait for piano to fall from sky. Scripture is much more complicated than that.

Good people suffer. Bad people sometimes prosper. Job is practically an entire book devoted to dismantling the idea that suffering automatically means someone did something to deserve it. Psalm 73 wrestles openly with the fact that wicked people can seem to be doing just fine.

Jesus also rejected the assumption that every hardship could be traced directly to somebody’s wrongdoing. So while the Bible teaches consequences, it doesn’t teach karma.

And there’s an even bigger difference. Grace.

Karma, at least in the way we usually talk about it, says eventually you get what’s coming to you. Christianity says sometimes, because of Christ, you don’t.

That’s a very good thing.

If the universe operated strictly on a system where everybody received exactly what they had earned, I’m not sure any of us should be especially eager for the accounting department to open our file.

The Bible teaches that God is just and that our actions matter. We do reap what we sow. But it also teaches that forgiveness is possible, mercy is real, and people can change.

Justice matters. Consequences matter. But grace changes everything.

So no, I don’t really believe in karma. I believe in something better.

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Copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.