Devotees are never forced to enjoy the fruits of their karma. All their pastimes, such as atking birth, take place simply by the Lord's will. But it is often seen that devotees appear in low-class families or like fools to ordinary eyes, or afflicted with disease.

There is a great purpose behind this. If people find that the Lord's devotees appear only in high-class families and that they are always strong, healthy and highly learned according to material calculation, they will become discouraged. In order to display His causeless mercy and to benefit all living entities, therefore, the most merciful Lord induces His devotees to appear among various classes of men. It is to be understood that this is like sending a trained she-elephant into a kheda, an enclosure for cathing wild elephants. Sri Caitanya-bhagavata states:

"The Lord had His devotees, who are equal to Him, appear at impious places and in impious families in order to deliver everyone."
"In whatever place or family a Vaisnava appears, people for hundreds of thousands miles around are all delivered."
"Know for certain that whatever worldly distress is seen in a Vaisnava is actually spiritual happiness."
"People blinded with pride over material enjoyment do not know anything. They cannot recognize a Vaisnava due to pride born of education and wealth."

Just because devotees appear in low-class families does not mean that they are sinful or that they have appeared in such families as a result of karma. Rather, we should understand that they have appeared to purify those families. One who attains perfection by practicing the sadhana prescribed for the age of Kali is the best of all.