Can Humans Secure a Happy Future?
Imagine you move into a brand new house. It’s everything you hoped for, and you feel your future looks bright. Then, a few years later, deep cracks start to appear, the walls shift, and experts say the whole place must come down. You’re devastated. Then you learn your neighbours face the same disaster. An inquiry finds poor design and faulty bricks.
Our world is in a similar state. Despite endless social and political experiments and the amazing progress in science and technology, life around us seems to be falling apart. In some countries, lawlessness and near-anarchy are already ‘normal‘. Many ask if sheer desperation will push humans to fix things and finally build decent government. Yet the record of human rule tells a different story.
“We Have Tried Everything”
Many learned men from ancient times up to the present day have proposed many political theories to fix society. A well-respected journal once stated that people have tried almost every type of system and method available, from extreme state control to unfettered markets, from global peace bodies to nuclear deterrence. The article observed that wars meant to “end war” have only produced more conflict, and that many large cities still look like war zones.
That same article identified a sharp change in trust. At the start of the 20th century, many people felt sure science would solve our deepest problems. By the end of that century, growing numbers no longer believed what experts and scientists said.
In 2001, a well-known professor of economic and social history at a London university warned that human activity now affects the earth on a scale similar to powerful natural forces. He said that dealing with these problems would call for measures far beyond human capabilities.
Seeing the threat facing humanity, a widely known astrophysicist and best-selling science writer asked how the human race could survive another 100 years in a world that is politically, socially, and environmentally chaotic.
Why Is The Record So Grim?
The Bible gives the clearest explanation of why human efforts at self-rule keep failing. It does more than offer comfort; it frankly describes our condition and the forces at work. Consider four key truths it highlights.
1 – We are all imperfect.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” ,(Romans 3:23)
Like flawed bricks that weaken a building, inherited imperfection shows up in people as corruption, lying, greed, and misuse of power. This is nothing new. About 3,000 years ago, a Bible writer noted:
“man has dominated man to his harm.” ,(Ecclesiastes 8:9)
Governments and courts recognise these flaws. They try to limit harm with piles of laws and regulations. Yet they know that no law can make people truly love others or genuinely want to obey.
2 – Death overtakes us.
“Do not put your trust in princes
Nor in a son of man, who cannot bring salvation.
His spirit goes out, he returns to the ground;
On that very day his thoughts perish.” ,(Psalm 146:3,4)
King Solomon, often viewed as one of the wisest rulers, saw how fragile human plans are. He wrote:
“And I began to hate all my hard work at which I had been toiling under the sun, because I must leave it behind for the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take control over all my hard work at which I toiled and at which I used my wisdom under the sun. This too is futility.” ,(Ecclesiastes 2:18,19)
Even the best leaders die, and their successors may be unwise or corrupt. No human can escape this limit.
3 – Good self-rule is beyond us.
“I well know, O Jehovah, that man’s way does not belong to him.
It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.” ,(Jeremiah 10:23)
The Bible shows that, from the start, God did not give humans either the right or the ability to rule themselves successfully. Think about how people often react when other people tell them what to do or set moral rules. Deep down, many resist. We need to look to a higher authority than any human for direction in life. That authority is God!
“For Jehovah is our Judge,
Jehovah is our Lawgiver,
Jehovah is our King;
He is the One who will save us.” ,(Isaiah 33:22)
When human commands clash with God’s, faithful servants of God respond as early Christians did:
“But in reply they said to them: “Whether it is righteous in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves.” ,(Acts 4:19)
“In answer Peter and the other apostles said: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.” ,(Acts 5:29)
4 – Humans are under a hidden ruler.
“We know that we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” ,(1 John 5:19)
If the owners and top managers of a company were thoroughly corrupt and beyond reach, ordinary staff could hardly clean up the firm. In a similar way, people alone cannot fix problems that stem from unseen spirit rulers who oppose God. The Bible describes these forces in this way:
“because we have a struggle, not against blood and flesh, but against the governments, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.” ,(Ephesians 6:12)
So the Bible does not only expose human failings and reveal the unseen powers behind much of the harm we see. It also announces good news: there is a sure, practical solution that gives a solid basis for hope.
Our Creator Steps In
On our own, we cannot fix the four hard facts just described. No thinker, politician, billionaire, or scientist can remove human imperfection, stop death, give humans perfect self-rule, or oust the wicked spirit forces.
Our Creator has not forgotten the human family. As the rightful Sovereign of the earth, he will deal with every barrier that blocks our lasting happiness.
“God is love.” ,(1 John 4:8)
His love moves him to act, and he will do so soon. Why can we be so sure? Current events and social trends match Bible prophecies about a specific time period called “the last days” of the present system.
“But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here.” ,(2 Timothy 3:1)
Jesus linked those “last days” with today’s global troubles … war, food shortages, floods and earthquakes, one after another.
Ringing any bells yet?
