The Buddha says that you have to take on the basic assumptions of kamma consistently if you want to follow the path consistently. In other words, skillful actions lead to good results and unskillful actions lead to unpleasant results. Always.

"The Buddha teaches a path of action to put an end to suffering, so to follow that path you need to make certain assumptions about action.

• The first assumption is that actions are real and not illusory.

• Second, your actions are the result of your choices. They’re not just the result of some outside force acting through you. In other words, they’re not determined simply by the stars or your DNA. You’re actually making the choices.

• The third principle is that actions do have effects. You’re not writing in water, where everything you write immediately disappears. When you do something, it will have an effect both in the present moment and lasting through time into the future.

• The fourth principle is that the effects of your actions are tendencies. They’re not strictly deterministic; they don’t lead to ironclad outcomes.

• The fifth principle is that the effects of your actions are dependent on the state of your mind, one, while you’re doing the action, and two, when you’re receiving the results of the action.

Now, these principles are not things that you can be agnostic about. Every time you act, you’re making a decision as to whether or not the action is worthwhile. And your calculation will depend on how you take a position on those first three points: in other words, that the action is real, that it is your choice, and that it does have effects. For best results, the Buddha recommends basing your calculations on accepting all three of these principles. If you don’t, there will be no reason to be careful in what you do. And he also recommends assuming that the law of kamma is 24/7. It’s not like a traffic law, for instance, where no parking is allowed on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but you can park all you want on other days of the week. All too often we have the attitude that the effects of kamma should bend to our will. In other words, with some actions we tell ourselves, “I hope this action has a result,” but with others we like to tell ourselves, “I hope this won’t have a result. It doesn’t matter.” But the Buddha says that you have to take on the basic assumptions of kamma consistently if you want to follow the path consistently. In other words, skillful actions lead to good results and unskillful actions lead to unpleasant results. Always.

As for the last two assumptions — that the effects are tendencies and that those effects depend on the state of your mind, both while you’re doing the action and when you receive the result: If you didn’t accept these two principles, the path to the end of suffering would be impossible. Everyone would have to endure the results of past mistakes before gaining awakening, and as a result, no one would be able to get to awakening. They would be simply stuck, continually having to suffer from their past actions. Remember, when the Buddha teaches about kamma, he never talks about anyone “deserving” to suffer. If you develop your mind, as he says, in an unlimited way, then when the results of past actions come, they will have only a very small result. The image he gives is of a body of water. If you place a lump of salt into a large river of water, then — assuming that the river is clean — you can still drink the water in the river. However, if you put the same crystal of salt into a small cup of water, you won’t be able to drink the water because it’s too salty. One of the purposes of practicing is to create a larger, unlimited mind state. The Buddha’s teachings are all about gaining release from suffering, whether that suffering is “deserved” or not."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Five Faculties: Putting Wisdom in Charge of the Mind"