By Travis Giauque

What happens when you drop a fully inflated basketball onto a hard, flat surface? That’s right—it bounces back. What happens when you throw a boomerang correctly through an open stretch of air, free of obstacles? You guessed it—it comes back. And what happens when you offer genuine, selfless help to someone in need? Just like the ball and the boomerang, that kindness comes back to you, too. This is the essence of the Law of Cause and Effect—not just in physics, but as a universal law that governs our lives.

This law is often referred to as the Golden Rule or Law of the Harvest. You’ve heard it before: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” or “You reap that which you sow.” The “it” in these phrases—shown in italics earlier—can represent all kinds of things. We may not know exactly what is going to come back, or how. But we can be confident that whatever it is, it will be perfectly tailored to our personal growth and matched to the manner in which we gave.

This is not just a nice idea—it’s a universal law. And truth, by its nature, doesn’t change based on opinion or interpretation. It simply is. As Leslie Householder wisely said:

“You cannot break a [universal] law; you can only break yourself against it.”

The Law of Cause and Effect states: “Every cause has an effect, and every effect has a cause. Nothing happens by chance.” When we choose not to break ourselves against this law, we can choose instead to let it work for us. That happens when we give freely—whether it’s time, energy, kindness, compassion, or resources—in whatever way we’re able. That gift will return to us. Maybe not in the way we imagined or expected, but it will come back—always—and in its perfect time.

So here’s the question: What degree of “karma” are you living by?

Now, here’s something important to remember. The cause we set in motion must be genuine and selfless. If we give only with the hope of receiving, or for the praise of others, we’ve already received our reward in full—and the deeper, more powerful return is forfeited.

Let’s break this down with a couple of examples.

Imagine I’m a billionaire and I call a press conference to announce I’m donating $100 million to fight breast cancer. The world applauds. I’m praised for my generosity. But if my main motivation was the recognition, then I’ve already received my reward. The effect matched the cause.

Now picture a different scenario: I’m facing serious financial hardship. I’ve lost my wife to breast cancer. I have very little left in my bank account—but I still choose to donate what I do have to the local breast cancer society, simply because I want to help prevent others from experiencing the same loss. That is a selfless act. And by law, the return for that kind of giving will be far greater than the billionaire’s donation—because the cause was different in both motivation and sacrifice.

Where’s my reward? I may not know right away—but I can trust it will come, and that it will match the level at which I gave. Sound familiar? Think of the parable of the widow’s mite.

As Leslie Householder reminds us:

"Do not do good deeds in hopes that people will know you did and be impressed with you". Upon doing so, we already "have [our] reward".

Understanding this law, it becomes clear: our giving should always precede any receiving. It’s not about waiting to be rewarded and then being generous. It’s about giving freely and trusting that the return will follow. Just like with the boomerang—you must first let it go in order for it to fly its course and come back.

Living this way requires deep faith in universal truth. It means believing that the law is at work every single time, even when we can’t yet see the return. And when that return does come, let’s be mindful of where the credit truly belongs. Because none of it—none of it—was ever possible by our efforts alone.

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