17:13 - Mishleic Karma

משלי יז:יג

מֵשִׁיב רָעָה תַּחַת טוֹבָה, לֹא תָמיּשׁ [תָמוּשׁ] רָעָה מִבֵּיתוֹ:

Mishlei 17:13 – Mishleic Karma

If one repays good with bad, badness will not depart from his house.

For whatever reason, people have a latent expectation that good should be repaid with good; for this reason, the person who repays good with bad is universally abhorred. Such an individual is exceedingly egotistical: he believes that he is entitled to be the recipient of good from others, but at the same time, feels that he doesn’t owe them anything; not only that, but he feels free to treat them however he pleases, as though they are nothing but objects in his possession. As a direct consequence of this insensitive, egotistical way of relating to others, such an individual will be continually plagued by badness in four ways: 

1. People will hate him and resent him.
   
2. They will not be willing to do good for him, since they know their goodness will be repaid with badness.
   
3. His egotistical sense of entitlement will cause him to be remiss in his responsibilities towards the members of the systems of which he is a part; this will harm the system as a whole, and he – as a part of that system – will suffer as a consequence.
   
4. His egotism will generate excessive and unrealistic expectations of how others should relate to him, and these unfulfilled expectations will breed perpetual dissatisfaction, conflict, and distress. 

Although there is no such thing as actual Karma, the victim of this type of evil recompense can take solace in this “Mishleic Karma” and know with certainty that the perpetrator will suffer greatly as a “punishment” for the way he treats others.