Five Reasons Karma is a Bad Idea
Karma, as a concept, has been around for thousands of years. The principle of karma, found in most Indian religions and philosophies, is effectively a universal law of spiritual cause and effect: good deeds and intentions lead to good karma and moving up the chain of rebirth, while bad deeds and intentions lead to bad karma and moving down the chain of rebirth.
Human beings seem to believe in karma almost instictively. When we do bad things, we often feel that bad things are going to happen to us as a result. We may call it by different names—bad luck, fate—but the idea is the same, and it seems to haunt us everywhere we go.
The concept of karma even creeps into the minds of many Christians. Young, immature, or poorly discipled Christians can often be heard saying things like, “I think God is punishing me because of my sin” or “This is happening to me because I haven’t been to church lately.” Such statements have less in common with Christianity and more in common with Hinduism and Buddhism.
Although the principle of karma has been around so long and serves as the basis for so many worldviews and systems of belief, it is, in the end, a bad idea. The concept of karma leads to a host of negative feelings and attitudes and contributes nothing of value to human spirituality or flourishing.
Here are five reasons the concept of karma is destructive and ought to be rejected.
Karma Leads to Pride
Karma is driven purely by human initiative. There is no divine assistance or grace involved. Therefore, if someone gains or experiences good karma, 100% of the credit goes to that individual. This gives the individual cause for pride and feeling superior to others, since their good karma is the result of their hard work and effort.
The Apostle Paul warns us about this in Ephesians 2:8-9:
8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast.
Human beings are prideful enough as it is. The last thing we need is a spiritual concept that’s perfectly designed to exacerbate our natural tendency toward self-promotion, one-upmanship, and looking down on others.
2. Karma Leads to Fear
At the other end of the spectrum, if someone feels they’re experiencing bad karma, or they feel they haven’t done enough good deeds in their life, the idea of karma can lead to fear. Trying to climb out of negative territory into neutral or positive territory can feel like drowning or pulling yourself out of quicksand; the more you struggle, the faster you sink. This fear saps you of strength and motivation and can be paralyzing.
“Trying to climb out of negative territory into neutral or positive territory can feel like drowning or pulling yourself out of quicksand; the more you struggle, the faster you sink.”
When fear has done its job, it can leave a person in utter despair and resigned to their fate. What’s the point of paying off a debt that would take several lifetimes to clear? At this point, a person has little choice but to let the sands of karma overtake them and accept whatever lower form of rebirth awaits.
3. Karma Leads to Guilt & Shame
Similarly, because karma is a system based on human action and initiative, experiencing bad karma in this life can lead to a debilitating sense of guilt and shame. If it’s true that bad things happen to us in this life because of bad things we did in a past life, then it must mean we deserve every bad thing that happens to us. There is no forgiveness in karma. Therefore, no suffering person is an innocent victim, but a guilty felon who’s simply suffering the consequences of their own evil actions.
“There is no forgiveness in karma.”
If karma is true, then it takes away any basis for protesting against injustices that are done to us. It removes any validation for us to question pain or suffering that befalls us or those we love. If karma is true, we must simply accept all pain and suffering as the just rewards for our past misdeeds, even if we have no recollection of them (as in the case of past lives).
“If it’s true that bad things happen to us in this life because of bad things we did in a past life, then it must mean we deserve every bad thing that happens to us.”
In an age of widespread depression, anxiety, and suicide, the worst thing to do is arm people with the idea that everything bad that happens to them is their fault, and that if they die now, they’ll simply be reborn so they can try again. The Bible tells us that human beings have one life and one chance to find salvation in Christ before judgment comes (Heb. 9:27).
4. Karma Leads to Complacency
Suppose someone believes that they have accumulated enough good karma to secure a positive rebirth in the next life. What then? What reason would they have to continue doing good? Since belief in karma is almost always accompanied by the belief that the universe is impersonal and has no feelings and passes no judgment, there would be no reason to please or appease the universe with good deeds either. Doing and being good becomes superfluous, which leads to a profound sense of complacency.
“But if being just above the neutral line is enough to warrant moving up the chain of rebirth, then in reality, karma encourages people toward moral mediocrity.”
This complacency makes karma an ultimately self-defeating idea. Karma is supposedly a concept meant to encourage people toward the good and to warn against the bad. But if being just above the neutral line is enough to warrant moving up the chain of rebirth, then in reality, karma encourages people toward moral mediocrity.
5. Karma Leads to Uncertainty
Speaking of neutral lines, given the vague and mysterious nature of karma, there’s no way to know how many good deeds and intentions are enough. Which deeds are considered good and which are bad? If I do a good deed with mixed motives, what does that count as? If I do a deed with good motives but with harmful results, what then? Does ignorance play a factor in karma’s calculus?
What about sins of omission? If I don’t stop to help a stranger in need, or don’t respond to an ad to give money to support an important cause, does my good karma go down? How many of these ads do we see a day? Going 10 mph over the speed limit because everyone else is doing it: good karma? Bad karma? Who knows?
“It’s categorically impossible to know where you stand with karma.”
All this doesn’t even get into major moral grey areas such as injuring or killing someone in self-defense (or the defense of others), buying products that may have been tested on animals or made in a sweatshop, or voting for candidates who do good for one part of society but bad for another. It’s categorically impossible to know where you stand with karma.
But this is no way to live life. Living like this is like being trapped in the bus in the movie Speed, which was set to explode if it went below 50 mph. For every flash of anger, for every pang of envy, for every lustful craving, for even the hint of pride or hatred or prejudice, for every act of selfishness that brings harm or disadvantage to others, the invisible line of judgment inches closer to us. There’s nothing worse than a danger you can’t see. When going through life trying to stay ahead of an inexcorable yet unseen cut-off point, there’s no peace or rest for the soul. All you can do is run and hope you make it.
A Better Way
Karma is a bad idea. It offers no advantage or benefit to humankind and sets people up to fail in several significant ways. The good news of Jesus Christ, on the other hand, offers an infinitely better way toward life, peace, and fulfillment. Read the follow-up article to this entry, Five Reasons the Gospel is Better than Karma, to learn more.
