What's wrong with the world?
Just a quick glance at the news is enough to convince anyone that there is something drastically wrong with the world. Globally there is war, terrorism and poverty. Closer to home there is unemployment and debt. Prisons are overcrowded, alcohol and drug addiction is increasing and suicide rates are rising. Families are divided, lives are empty and hearts are broken. What’s gone wrong?
Diagnosing the Problem
The Times newspaper once posed the question, ‘What’s wrong with the world?’ They were inundated with opinions. The most unusual response came from author GK Chesterton who replied with just two words, ‘I am.’ The Bible explains that everything wrong in the world originates within the human heart. The question isn’t really ‘what’s wrong with the world?’ but ‘what’s wrong with me?’ The issues mentioned above are just symptoms of a far deeper, spiritual problem called sin.
Dissecting the Problem
Its Source: The Bible says that sin came into the world through the very first man, Adam. As the representative of the human race, his disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden brought catastrophic consequences upon the planet and its population. Like a river polluted at its head, the whole of the human race has been polluted spiritually and morally. The Bible explains that sin isn’t something we learn as we grow up. It is an inbuilt bias to ignore God’s laws which we inherit at birth. We never have to teach a child to tell lies, throw tantrums, or say ‘no.’ These things come naturally to us all.
Its Symptoms: When someone is suffering from a cold, their temperature, coughing and sneezing give it away. Similarly, our actions, words and thoughts prove that we are all affected by the spiritual disease of sin. The frequent failures and many mistakes in our lives show us that we are sinners. In different ways and to different extents, we have all broken God’s law.
Its Seriousness: When sin entered into the world, disease, deterioration and death entered with it. Sickness, suffering and sorrow are all the consequences of living in a fallen world. Our sin not only offends God, but harms ourselves and hurts others. The Bible speaks about a day of judgement ahead when God will hold us all personally responsible for our sin. The Bible explains that our sins separate us from God, bar us from Heaven and destine us for Hell.
Its Symptoms: When someone is suffering from a cold, their temperature, coughing and sneezing give it away. Similarly, our actions, words and thoughts prove that we are all affected by the spiritual disease of sin. The frequent failures and many mistakes in our lives show us that we are sinners. In different ways and to different extents, we have all broken God’s law.
Its Seriousness: When sin entered into the world, disease, deterioration and death entered with it. Sickness, suffering and sorrow are all the consequences of living in a fallen world. Our sin not only offends God, but harms ourselves and hurts others. The Bible speaks about a day of judgement ahead when God will hold us all personally responsible for our sin. The Bible explains that our sins separate us from God, bar us from Heaven and destine us for Hell.
Dealing with the Problem
Medicines often treat the symptoms, rather than the cause of our illnesses. Many people adopt this approach to dealing with sin. Some try to turn over a new leaf, whilst others ‘turn religious’. Sadly, these approaches fail to deal with the real problem.
The Bible teaches that there is only one remedy for sin. Out of love, God has provided a way for us to receive complete forgiveness for our sins. God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour. On the cross, Jesus bore the judgement we deserved for our sins. God now offers forgiveness to all those who are willing to turn from sinful living and trust in Jesus Christ.
For those who do this, God promises a home in Heaven where there will be no more tears, sorrow, pain, or death. All that is wrong with the world today will be absent from Heaven in the future.
NEXT: Who is Jesus Christ?
The Bible teaches that there is only one remedy for sin. Out of love, God has provided a way for us to receive complete forgiveness for our sins. God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour. On the cross, Jesus bore the judgement we deserved for our sins. God now offers forgiveness to all those who are willing to turn from sinful living and trust in Jesus Christ.
For those who do this, God promises a home in Heaven where there will be no more tears, sorrow, pain, or death. All that is wrong with the world today will be absent from Heaven in the future.
NEXT: Who is Jesus Christ?