Get 30 FREE sermons.

WHAT TO DO DURING DIFFICULT TIMES (1 OF 13)

by Scott Maze

Scripture: James 1:1-4
This content is part of a series.


What to Do During Difficult Times (1 of 13)
Series: Balance: A Study of the Book of James
Scott Maze
James 1:1-4


Ravi was born in 1953 in India into a family of wealth as they were in the second-highest caste, lower only than the priests. Destined for comfort and great opportunities, he was a devout Hindu. The village rejoiced with the family at his birth, especially since male children were seen as a treasure by the Indian culture. But at the age of three, Ravi was stricken with polio. His parents were devastated. They spent a fortune giving Ravi the best of medical treatment. At one point the young boy spent nine months in a total body cast. But his condition did not improve. Abandoning medical solutions, his parents turned to the village gods. His father had two expensive temples built for the gods. Yet, Ravi did not improve. Ravi's parents began to see him as a burden. He had to have two people to look after his needs, including one person who was responsible for carrying him wherever he needed to go. None of the Hindu gods heard the prayers of Ravi and his parents. His condition worsened and he became completely disabled. After all of the work, sacrifices, and money spent on their son, his parents concluded that Ravi would not walk the rest of his life because he had bad karma in a previous life.

Karma is a Hindu fatalistic concept that necessitates reincarnation. The conditions of each successive life are determined by one's bad or good deeds in past lives. It is kind of a universal law of cause and effect that determines fate or destiny. Each person must suffer for his own deeds of the past life.

Ravi suffered as a young boy and was crippled because of the bad deeds he had committed in a previous life. Ravi spoke of the difficulties of his childhood: ''I saw how much my parents enjoyed my brothers and sisters, but they did not want to be around me. They would tell our housekeeper to carry me away from the rest of the family on special events. I ...

There are 12638 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.

Price:  $5.99 or 1 credit
Start a Free Trial