How many times in a week do you think you are doing things right and other people are doing things wrong? How many times do you judge how someone is handling a situation in their life and think you would handle it differently? How many times do you speculate during gossip and say, “I can’t believe that she…..If that was me I would have never done that. I would have done this….” How many times has something happened to someone and you have arrogantly said it was Karma and she got what she deserved? How many times have you wished Karma to come upon another?

If you are being truthful, most of you do all those things frequently, or have in the past. I am not innocent. I have committed all of these sins many times before I became a Christian, studied God’s word and prayed for the Holy Spirit to change my heart. Even after I became a Christian I had, what I thought, was an innocent passing thought, but God showed me it was not innocent at all. In fact, it was judgmental. If it were not for God’s love for me by showing me the error of my ways, I may never have known that what I had done was not Christ like.

While attending Cosmetology school, soon after I became a Christian, I stopped at a coffee house almost every morning. I went through the drive thru and frequently paid for the bill of the car behind me. I often wished I could see the surprised look on their face as they learned their drink order had been paid. One day, while in the drive thru line my mind went to the recipients of my good deed. I wondered how the recipient responded and if they, in return, paid for the drink of the person behind them. I arrogantly thought, “If that was me and I received this generous gift from someone, I would then immediately pay for the order of the car behind me.”

About a week later, just enough time for me to forget about the greatness I placed upon myself, I pulled up to the drive thru window to pay for my drink. Before I could pay for my order I was told that the car in front of me paid for my order. I was completely taken by surprise and was so thankful and full of joy of the person’s generosity! I was so flustered, I took the drink and pulled away! The second I pulled away from the window I realized what I had just done. I did NOT pay for the order of the car behind me like I arrogantly speculated I would!

God had just taught me a lesson in the most merciful way. The first act of mercy from God was answering my wish and allowing me to be the recipient of this gracious gift and experience the joy other recipients most likely felt. The second act of mercy from God was Him opening my eyes and allowing me to immediately see my sin. The third act of mercy was the way in which God chose to show me the sin within my heart. He chose to use an experience at a drive thru coffee shop when He could have used a more difficult life experience.

Many people today choose not to acknowledge God, His power and mercy of discipline by saying this was an act of Karma. Without knowing the previous intentions of my heart, the previous thoughts of my mind, some may say that since I was so generous to others by paying for their order, I received back the actions I put out. Karma is actually a belief of Hinduism and Buddhism that means what happens to a person, happens because they caused it with their actions. This is a humanistic approach.

A humanistic approach attaches the prime importance to the human, rather than God. In other words, humans are greater than God and are their own God. They caused it to happen to themselves, rather than God showing His mercy with an act of discipline. As one can see, on the surface, to an outsider for instance, my free coffee may have looked one way. When one factors in what was going on inwardly in my arrogant thoughts, a new picture begins to form and it changes the whole perspective, and this perspective is only known by the one who thinks it and the one who sees it; God.

Not only did God show me how wrong I was in my speculation of my greatness, He also taught me to be cautious in the future. Since that day, by God’s grace, I do not think I have ever speculated how I would react to a situation if it were to befall upon me, because I truly do not know. It is very possible that I will react or handle a situation in the same way as someone else did.

This discipline from God has also caused me to speak up when someone I am around begins to judge the actions of another and speculates how she would handle the situation better. My response to these people have been, “You know, we think we know how we will respond to a certain situation if it were to come upon us, but in actuality, we never know how we will respond unless it happens to us.”

Hebrews 12:6-11 “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for descipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of the spirits and live? For, they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

As you see in the scripture above, God disciplines or tests the ones he loves. This discipline from God is compared to the discipline we receive from our earthly fathers. It may sting at the moment we receive it, but it is intended to help us to grow, learn from the lesson and be trained to produce good things. This discipline, or testing grows us in grace and to be more like Christ. I am so thankful for God’s discipline in my life. I can definitely see how His discipline has taught me a lesson, produced good things from me and has grown me in grace so that I may share this experience of God’s loving discipline with you.

Matthew 26:33,35 “Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away because of you, I will never fall away….”Even if I have to die with you,” Peter told him, “I will never deny you,” and all the disciples said the same thing.”

In this scripture Jesus is telling the disciples how they will all fall away that night and that Peter will deny him three times before the rooster crows. As you read his words in the Bible you can hear the conviction in his voice that he will not fall away and he would die with Jesus, rather than deny him. We all know what Peter and the disciples actually did. They did just as Jesus said, they ran away from Jesus as he was captured and when Peter was being accused of knowing Jesus, he denied him three times.

Imagine the pride the disciples had for themselves, denying what Jesus was telling them would come to be, and leaning on themselves and their feelings to predict what they would do when the situation arises. They even had Jesus with them and telling them what was going to happen and they still denied it and opted to believe in themselves, thinking their love for Jesus was strong enough.

I see myself and my own sin when I read this moment in history, as well as through all the history of the Bible. Our hearts are no different than those who lived thousands of years before us. We are no different. I sometimes try to think how I would be reacting during that time if I was alive when Jesus was living among the people of the earth. Sometimes my prideful heart thinks I would love Jesus and would not turn on him, but in actuality, because I have no idea what it would have been like to live during that time, I have no idea how I would have reacted. Today, we are truly blessed to have the full Bible, the full book of history. Back then, they were living the history, moment by moment, that we read today.

1. Do you see, although, the time and culture is different than ours, our sins are still the same?
2. Do you see yourself when you read the Bible, or do you separate yourself and thank God that you are not like them?
3. Do you see?

I pray that you will conduct a self examination of your heart and, if you currently do not have awareness, pray for God to open your eyes to see your sin and when you receive disciplining or testing from God. If you currently do not personally know Jesus, I invite you to confess your sin to Jesus, repent of your ways, ask for forgiveness and invite Jesus into your heart.