Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. – Galatians 6:7-10 (ESV)
As someone with a high view of Scripture, there are passages that give me pause. My belief that every word is inspired by God does not afford me the luxury of discounting a difficult word as being simply the words of a fallible human. Add to that the very real tendency of every church across every denomination to emphasize some doctrines over others and gloss over passages that raise challenges to those doctrinal focuses, and it’s easy to see why some Christians can fall into errors around difficult verses.
This passage is one of those. Some interpretations of Paul’s words lean heavily toward a concept that I call “Christian karma” – a hard and fast transactional mindset captured in words I have heard people say hundreds, maybe thousands, of times in my life: “What goes around comes around.” When the person making the statement points to Galatians 6 as Biblical proof (sometimes from the pulpit) the words take on a heaviness that feels like divine punishment when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances.
Here’s the truth we must remember: Paul isn’t writing law to the Galatians. He’s not laying down rules of life that nobody can escape. In context, Paul has spent 5 chapters laying out the doctrine of grace, calling them to reject the slavery of legalism and live in the freedom of Spirit-guided obedience. Are we really to think he’s going to end this book by offering a rule from which there is no escape?
Instead, Paul is helping them understand the outcomes that exist in a flesh-driven life (one where the Law is used to see “how much I can get away with” or “how little do I have to do for it to count”) and a Spirit-driven life (one that asks “how can I please God out of love” and “how can I live out of what He’s already done in my heart”).
What we “reap in the flesh” is not defined as suffering, but as corruption–sin reigns, as sin loves to use the Law to enslave us so that even our obedience becomes a source of pride and thus bondage. Are there natural consequences for sinful, flesh-driven actions? Of course, and God doesn’t spare us from all of them. But I would argue from Scripture and my own experience that He also doesn’t fully allow us to experience every consequence we could or even should have—and He weaves grace throughout. David’s son, born from his sinful choices around Bathsheba and Uriah, died, but God personally named the next son (Solomon), placing Bathsheba in Jesus’ lineage. As with Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia, His paws may scratch us, but they are covered in velvet when they do—and any cuts He makes are only to “undragon” us and reveal what is underneath that is more real than our struggles feel in the moment.
What we “reap in the Spirit” is defined as eternal life–the Spirit reigns, and as Paul told the church at Corinth, He is a down payment for all that is to come. With this promised reaping comes a call to keep doing good, not because we will be paid back in kind, or because we don’t want to be punished, but because we know there is something beyond this life. What of the blessings that do seem to come around at times after we have been obedient? Certainly those are not to be discounted. They are real, but they are still works of grace. But we must be cautious, because the moment we trace our happy marriage back to staying sexually pure while dating (even if that may be a genuine blessing from God), we may be tempted to give ourselves pats on the back in comparison to others who are struggling and drift into pride. God’s blessings do come, giving us glimpses of death being swallowed up by life. But the obedience itself is its own reward. Walking in step with the Spirit gives us benefits that Paul calls “reaping … eternal life,” not merely rewards in this life. Any blessing we experience here is a foretaste of so much more to come.
So the next time you hear someone say “what goes around comes around”, or you hear a sermon to that effect, remember the heart of God and the context of Paul’s words. When you struggle in your own times of suffering, or feel the temptation to be prideful about a blessing the you think is connected to obedience, reject the idea of “Christian karma." Embrace the outlandish grace and mercy of the Gospel as you learn to walk in step with the Spirit and reap eternal life.
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