Question

I seem to remember that I once read something by you about how when the Sages say, "Whoever does… merits… / is thereby…" and the like, this is not an absolute rule. Rather, the meaning is that a certain act tends in the direction of a certain result, and there can always be other factors that pull in another direction, like a law of nature. (Yes, this wasn’t as clear as the original column, but I hope it’s enough to remind you.)
Could you point me to the column in question?