In James, God expresses his concern for widows and orphans--expanding the list of those the church needs to especially care about. Throughout the Bible, there are examples of God miraculously and mundanely supporting those who struggle to survive. The Father has a heart for the defenseless. And so should we.
A good portion of people in the world believe in karma. I do. The bible says, "you will harvest what you plant". "What goes around, comes around."
However, some people associate karma with fate. If a person is suffering in some way, they deserve it. A person with a disability must have done something terrible in a past life to deserve it. So, the logic goes, we should not interfere with karma. Let people suffer. It is the only way they will learn. This is the universe dolling out justice.
Thank God that reincarnation and this type of karma are not the reality. God gives us mercy, not justice. God forgives us for Jesus sake. There is no eternal wheel of punishment and rebirth.
Because of this, we also cherish everyone around us. We do not ignore people's suffering. We do what we can to help the vulnerable and give out of our blessings to be a blessing to others. We do not view people who suffer as less than ourselves.
We were at the State Fair yesterday. I saw something on the back of someone's t-shirt that said, "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about." On the front, it said, "Be kind".
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
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