I wince when I hear Christians say, “What goes around comes around.” Many people say this, but Christians should not because its origin is Zen Buddhism. Christians should say: “Whatever you sow you will reap” because its origin is the Bible.
The difference? Think of two circles. The first is the way the Buddhist sees life; the second is how the Jew and the Christian see life. “What goes around comes around” is impersonal. Like most Eastern religions it is esoteric, mysterious, and fatalistic — who knows when “what goes around” will come around? It is both mysterious and unpredictable.
“As a man sows, so also shall he reap” is seasonal, not mysterious and beyond knowing since it works according to a universally known, proven law of nature. Neither is it unpredictable because when sown in season it is reaped in due season.
Many of us think in technical terms rather than agricultural terms. Newton’s ‘mechanical’ age is past, and to a degree even Einstein’s era. But the biblical is that a person who sows good seed or bad seed — i.e. does a good deed or a bad deed — will reap accordingly.
Justice works because it is an integral part of God’s Creation. It is not a nemesis, somewhere ‘out there’ that will come back and bite or bless when least expected. Laws work predictably, reliably, and satisfactorily when we plan and work in accord with them.
The second thing that makes me wince is hearing Christians say: “Everything happens with a purpose” Because not everything does. Many things in life happen without any apparent purpose. Which is why survivors of tragedies are afflicted with Survivor Syndrome. Why them? Why not me? Only God knows, or rather knew from the beginning.
Christians refer to Romans 8:38 — “All things work together for good…” But we don’t stop there because the verse goes on to say: “…for those who love God…” (Keep going!) “…For those who are [the] called (note the definite article “the” ) according to His purpose.”
Yes, everything “happens with a purpose” — “works together for good” — the good and the bad working in synergy — constructive collaboration or interaction — to the ultimate good of those who love God and have responded to the Divine call. This is what we Christians believe.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you strong” may be true in life but is inadequate when describing the presence and power of God in the life of a Christian who has bounced back from sickness to health. This is because in the majority of cases such things take place through the authority and power of the Name of Jesus Christ.
Knowing the above enables me to cope with these and other sayings that make me wince. They have equivalents such as “Over and Out” in US Army Voice Procedure, which as a onetime soldier in the Australian Army Corps of Signals makes me wince because a wireless message is either “Over” (meaning ongoing) or “Out” (meaning message ends). Never both together!
If only Christians would learn and maintain Biblical Voice Procedure! I still remember the “Alpha, Bravo Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, and so on of the Phonetic Alphabet, which I learned back in the 1960’s, and those interminable sessions spent reciting the above; and at times think that if only we would be as diligent in the words we speak.
“Peter Barfoot, Out.”