We are hearing a lot about “carbon footprint” these days, and we are told we need to reduce our personal
contribution to “global warming”. (I commented on the global warming subject some time ago, and several
years of additional data hasn't changed my opinion, so if interested go to our website and read or re-read that
article in http://home.att.net/~jnrstanley)
Much more important than our “carbon footprint” is what the Hindus might call our “karma footprint”. Every
major religion agrees that our actions have consequences. Hinduism has embodied this concept in the “law of
karma” which states that every action, good or evil, will affect the future condition of the person committing
that action. Christianity states it thus: “whatever a man sows, that also he will reap”. Other religions have
different ways of saying the same thing.
Yet we live in an age in which this most basic law is often ignored. Most of the problems in our world today,
from global warming (if it proves to be a problem) to war (which is definitely a problem) to the credit crunch,
(which may or may not be a problem for you), are caused by the behavior of individuals and/or groups of
persons.
Other types of behaviors, such as dishonesty, impurity, pride and selfishness, may or may not bring any
obvious immediate punishment to the one who practices them, but unless ALL of the religions are mistaken, they
will, at some time or other, produce undesirable results, in this life or the next. There will be “hell to pay”
sooner or later.
Is there a solution? Here is where the various religions part company. Most of them say, in one way or another,
that only through our own efforts can we counteract the bad karma we have all incurred. Even the average
person on the street, with no religious training, if confronted with the undeniable fact that he or she has done bad
things, and asked about the possible future rewards or punishments that might result, will mumble something
about “good deeds outweighing bad deeds”. As an incentive to swap bad behavior for good, this approach has
some merit, but folks who have been serious about trying it, as opposed to just talking about it, have found it
much harder than they at first supposed. This can lead to guilt feelings. Since all of us really are guilty, this is
not a bad thing, as some would tell us.
However, guilt opens the opportunity that some opportunists are eager to exploit. The radical jihadist will
promise the earnest young man (and even some young women) that if they will just blow themselves to bits,
along with a few infidel bystanders, they will have all their misdeeds erased and will be ushered into paradise.
What a wicked lie! But let us not forget that a few centuries ago, Christians were also told that by fighting in
the crusades, they could receive a “full indulgence for all sins”. Others have made a similar promise of
forgiveness by suggesting that the sinner just “give us all your money and we will take care of everything”. Just
buy your “karma offsets” from us.
Jesus came to do something quite different. On the cross he became the “propitiation for the sins of the whole
world”. By faith in him, we can have our whole “karma footprint” erased, and can also be given the power to
do the good things that we could never do on our own.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
I John 1: 9
