Imagine this scenario. \u00a0A young man, troubled through high school, finally gets a job at a local shoe store where, for a while, he tries to become a good, hard-working citizen. \u00a0But the temptation is too great, and eventually he embezzles from the store. \u00a0As a result, the store itself becomes insolvent, the company folds, and, consequently, the young man loses his job. \u00a0Thus his own action comes back to hurt him.<\/p>\n
Now, suppose instead that the troubled student did not merely “find” his job, but was befriended by another high school student, one whose father owned a family shoe store. \u00a0And in an effort to help the troubled young man, the family gave the wayward kid a job. \u00a0But again, the kid embezzles from the store, the store collapses, and the young man loses his job. \u00a0It’s the same story. \u00a0But suppose the family finds out why they lost their store. \u00a0Suppose they find out that the young man whom they befriended was the cause of the collapse. \u00a0We find then that the issue is not just one of suffering the consequences of one’s own actions. \u00a0For in the second case \u00a0there is more than some abstract “evil.” \u00a0There is betrayal.<\/p>\n
This is the difference between sin and “bad karma.” \u00a0For sin is not merely a “bad” action with repercussions; it is a betrayal of trust, an affront to love. \u00a0No wonder people prefer karma, for in some imagined economy of automatic moral retribution, there is no one to face, no one that can look at you with sorrow. \u00a0To break the shoe store is the same in both stories; to betray love and trust is something entirely new in the second tale. \u00a0And it is a burden no honest soul can bear without tears. \u00a0The dishonest conscience would therefore much more happily believe in karma than sin.<\/p>\n
Yet here is one more difference between karma and sin: it is possible that the family that trusted the young man can learn of his sin and forgive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Imagine this scenario. \u00a0A young man, troubled through high school, finally gets a job at a local shoe store where, for a while, he tries to become a good, hard-working citizen. \u00a0But the temptation is too great, and eventually he … Continue reading