Karma is a system for understanding social justice. It is the response to a person wondering why some people are so privileged while other people languish in poverty. Karma relies on the belief that people are born over and over and reap in the next life what they have sewn in the previous life. Thus, if a person has been virtuous, loving, kind, giving, respectful, fair, and benevolent in this life, then he or she will somehow be rewarded for it by the kind of life he or she lives in the next. Likewise, if a person has been unfair, manipulative, dishonest, unkind, and unscrupulous in this life, he or she will somehow be punished for it in the next.Many people who do not necessarily believe in complete Eastern philosophical or spiritual world views still buy into the concept of karma. They say, “What goes around comes around.” They may even not believe it takes a whole new life in order to get what “comes around”. You might hear people comment, “You’ll get yours.” That’s the concept of karma.All this is based on the belief that people do not actually get away with treating others badly. It is the sense that justice will eventually be done. It is the conviction that even though someone might think he or she is pulling a fast one at the expense of others, that person is simply in the process of pulling the rug out from under his or her own feet.I don’t believe in karma. I believe in justice, but I don’t believe everyone gets justice. I think often people suffer wrongs at the hands of others, and the story stops right there. I think God gets justice, but I don’t think people always do. Some people in this world just repeatedly mistreat others, use others, offend against others, steal from others, deceive others, betray others, and as long as they don’t get caught they don’t even give it a second thought. What’s more, many times these people don’t pay for it. Some people in this world are the sad recipients of intergenerational sin; their parents and grandparents lived despicable lives and it all came rolling down on the heads of their offspring.For such people you just have to lament, “It’s not fair.” No, it’s not fair in the sense that everyone should have an equal opportunity, an equal nest egg, an equal support network, an equally beneficial gifting of personal strengths and material gifts. It’s not fair in the sense that some people are born into impossible families, born with debilitating deformities, saddled with selfishly dysfunctional parents, and used and abused by those who ought to love them and nourish them. We are not all born equals, and that is a fact.In the Christian worldview God is both just and the justifier. That is, Jesus died and paid an infinite price to cover an infinite number of transgressions by all the people who ever lived or ever will live. But not all people are justified, because many people reject the work of Christ on their behalf. So, how does the issue of justice work out for the people who trust in Christ and for those who don’t?The believer is forgiven but accountable as a child to a Father; the father disciplines the child to weed out unloving, sinful character traits. The Bible says that there is no child of God who is without such discipline. So, if someone says he or she is a Christian, but that person continues to use others, lie to them, betray them, cheat them, steal from them, take advantage of them, use them and confuse them while benefiting from their loss, and that person does not experience the chastening of God for such behaviour, then there is a legitimate question about whether or not that person really belongs to the family of God to begin with, regardless of what he calls himself. There will be some who claim to be Christians, but Jesus will tell them at the end, “Depart from Me; I never knew you”. The Christian who uses other people can expect to have that beat out of him by a loving Father who is in the business of shaping people into conformity with the character of Jesus. The more such a person “doesn’t get it”, the more difficult his or her circumstances will become.Those who do not trust in Christ are what one person described as “this-life-only” type people. They might tell themselves to eat, drink, and be merry for eventually they will die, and they are correct. They will eventually die and be cast away from the conscious presence of God; however, they will realise their mistake and regret it forever. It does not matter how many boats they have here, how many lovers they’ve had, how “good” sex is for them, how much drugs they do, who they’ve cheated, how many people they’ve killed, etc. They may or may not get caught up in the judicial systems their respective societies have created, but they will eventually pay to the last shred of their existence for every terrible way in which they have used other people.God is just and the justifier; He has provided a way of salvation that does not detract from the kind of being He is. However, God is not a fool; God will not be mocked. He has cautioned people who are used, abused, and confused not to try to get even. We can ground ourselves, stand up for ourselves, and take care of ourselves. It is possible not to be overcome by the ways of others who mistreat us. God says, “The anger of man does not accomplish the righteousness of God,” and “Vengeance is mine; I will repay”. If I let the way others treat me drive me into despair, anger, frustration, fear, or acts of vengeance, then I am simply demonstrating my own need for discipline. If, however, I double down on the Christlike person I want to be and let God attend to the user, abuser, and confuser, God will deal with that person in ways I could not imagine and will bring about a result of infinite value in this life and in the life to come.