Date: 3/23/2010
Author: Devin
Title: Lean on Me - Karma?
March 24, 2010
“Sometime in our lives we all have pain, We all have sorrow, But if we are wise we know that there's, Always
tomorrow ..... Lean on me, when you're not strong and I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on, For it won't be
long till I'm gonna need Somebody to lean on ..... Please swallow your pride, if I have things You need to
borrow, For no one can fill those of your needs that you won't let show ..... Just call on me brother when you
need a hand, We all need somebody to lean on, I just might have a problem that you'd understand, We all
need somebody to lean on ..... If there is a load you have to bear That you can't carry, I'm right up the road,
I'll share your load if you just call me ......” (“Lean on Me” - written by Bill Withers)
One of the major teachings of Hinduism is that of Karma. It is described by one website in the following way ...... “Karma is a law in Hinduism which maintains that every act done, no matter how insignificant, will eventually return to the doer with equal impact. Good will be returned with good; evil with evil. Since Hindus believe in reincarnation, karma knows no simple birth/death boundaries. If good or evil befall you, it is because of something you did in this or a previous lifetime. Karma is sometimes referred to as a "moral law of cause and effect." Karma is both an encouragement to do good and to avoid evil, as well as an explanation for whatever good or evil befalls a person.”
If you search hard enough, you can find that most all major world religions have a least a thing or two in common. There are obvious major differences in the Christian and Hindu belief, but, a student of the Bible would have to admit that the Hindu law of Karma is closely akin to some of the teachings of Christ Jesus and some of God's greatest apostles. Paul said in Galatians 6:7-9, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” He also wrote in 2 Corinthians 9:6, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” Now, I have never been accused of being a man of great hermeneutics or Biblical interpretation, but even I can see the similarities in the teachings of Karma and Biblical “sowing and reaping”. Now, we know there are exceptions to almost every rule, at least on this side of heaven, and certainly the law of Karma is no different. A life of doing constant good does not guarantee you a life of receiving constant good no more than doing a life of constant evil guarantees you a life of receiving constant evil. Jesus said in Matthew 5:45, “He (God) causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Still, it makes the most sense that we should strive to follow the law of Karma and “sowing and reaping”. Not only will it occasionally pay off in this life, but by the grace of God, it will certainly pay off in the life that is yet to come.
Hi, my name is Devin and I am a Michael Bolton fan. There, I said it. I have seen him in concert many times and have a bunch of his songs on my iPod, one of which is his rendition of the Bill Withers song mentioned above. Mr. Withers wrote, “I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on, For it won't be long, till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on.” I have found in this life, without exception mind you, that when I make it my mission to be a leaning post for someone, that I don't have to look very far for a place to lean myself. You can call that Karma or you can call that “reaping what you sow”. I am just glad I have someone to call :)
Go the extra mile - Devin