Democratic countries throughout the world elect leaders to run their governments. Winds of change bring the promise of brighter futures to people everywhere. At least that's what the stream of promises from political candidates would lead people to believe.

Changes for the better are welcomed by nearly everyone. Knowing this, candidates on every side strive to highlight what's wrong with their political adversaries and contrast it with the good that will come if only they are elected. After all, a candidate must convincingly make the case that he can make things better.

In a world of difficulty and danger, people want their lives to get better. Yet, in spite of so many promised improvements, citizens face obstacles that do nothing but escalate-whether the dilemmas are local or global or somewhere in between. Complex problems confound governments, economies, politicians and the physical environment. Conflicts and sorrows are so pervasive that writer Aldous Huxley observed that maybe our world is "another planet's hell."

Trial and error

Do solutions to our problems exist? If so, where are they?

Many people have put forward ideas that were supposed to end everybody's difficulties and usher in a utopian age of one kind or another. The roots of big government hark back to the Sumerian kingdom of Mesopotamia of around 3,000 B.C. An early Sumerian ruler, Nimrod-whose name happens to appear in Genesis 10:8-12-became one of the planet's first tyrants. Eventually the Babylonian domination of the region, the cradle of civilization, spawned a governmental system that has ultimately involved many of the great empires of the world.

Successive empires devised ingenious tactics and philosophies to address humanity's problems. The attempted fixes continue and proliferate. They have included education, greater mechanization, bigger cities, more sports and entertainment, greater wealth and trade, and massive ruling empires.

Modern cultures are the result of thousands of years of attempts at improving the world. Yet the problems remain.

What if?

What if it were your responsibility to lead a nation? Where would you take it? How would you address its challenges and problems?

Consider the promises the major candidates recently made in their run for the U.S. presidency. Between them they pledged to:

• Improve the nation's educational system.
• Strengthen the national retirement program.
• Provide adequate, affordable health care.
• Strengthen national security.
• Lower taxes.
• Besides these kinds of problems, national leaders perennially promise to solve other difficulties. They say they will:
• Eliminate crime and the drug trade.
• Reduce poverty.
• Promote a just judicial system.
• End discrimination.
• Promote international peace and cooperation.
• Strengthen moral and family values and the work ethic.
• Reduce government bureaucracy.
• Wipe out pollution and promote proper ecology.

Do these proposed programs sound familiar? They should. Politicians have been promising to solve the same problems for decades. Yet they remain, some worse than ever.

The lesson is this:

The right government, the correct plan and the perfect person in a crucial position of leadership aren't what we have now, nor has any human government ever had such a person. Although many have tried, no humanly devised government in any country in any age has managed to make much progress down the road to creating a perfect civilization.

Good news is coming

But we shouldn't despair. Incredibly good news waits on the horizon. A perfect leader with a perfect plan exists, and He is carefully assembling a government fully able to do all the things that need to be done.

The human mind laughs at such a utopian prospect, even while leaders work to concoct their own new world order. But an appointed person and His staff are preparing to step in and put the world on its feet. The Israelite prophet Isaiah outlined the plan:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign ... over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever" (Isaiah 9:6, New International Version).

We humans are far too recent on the historical timeline, too eager, immature and impetuous. We think solutions are far less complex and deep-rooted than they are. That so many of our problems and dilemmas have remained with us-not only for a few presidential administrations but for thousands of years-should sober us.

Fixing the ills of mankind is not simple, even for God. He and His Son, Jesus Christ, haven't simply been killing time while waiting for the right moment to intervene in people's affairs. They have worked diligently to prepare for a major overhaul of the planet. Quite a few aspects of the solution-which will necessarily be a divine solution-are much more complex than we can imagine.

Points in God's master plan

Biblical history and prophecy reveal strategies God has implemented and will carry out to bring about a just, peaceful and prosperous world. They include:

• Establishing righteous laws that can guide human behavior and build justsocieties (Deuteronomy 4:5-8; 5:29).
• Providing a way for people to understand and incorporate His laws and keep the spirit of them, not just the letter (Jeremiah 31:33-34).
• Recording examples from which man can learn so he can avoid others' mistakes (1 Corinthians 10:6; Romans 15:4)
• Establishing a worldwide educational system to train people in His way of life (Isaiah 2:2-3).
• Transforming the world so that suffering and sorrow will be eliminated (Revelation 21:4).
• Devising a means for people to escape the finality of death (1 Corinthians 15:50-54).
• Arranging for the perfect King to rule the nations (Revelation 1:5-6; 19:11-16).
• Ending all rebellion against Him and His ways (Revelation 19:15).
• Establishing universal peace and freeing humanity from crime, war and other violence (Micah 4:3-4).
• Selecting and training assistants to administer proper government throughout the world (Revelation 20:4; 5:10; 1:6; Daniel 7:27).

This list covers some of the most important aspects of the massive preparations God has had underway for longer than human beings have existed.

Another change needed

Could you or I implement any of the above points? We have to admit that most of the items are far beyond our abilities. Yet they are necessary to solve the problems that plague mankind.

Even so, yet another vital step is missing. Without it many of the dramatic changes represented by the items on the list could never come about, and we could never see a peaceful, fulfilling world.

The culprit for humanity's ills is within us-our very nature. While Christian movements have reached much of the world, they have not tamed the inner man. British historian Paul Johnson observed that, in spite of Christianity's civilizing influence, "there is a cruel and pitiless nature in man which is sometimes impervious to Christian restraints and encouragements" (A History of Christianity, 1976, p. 517).

God alone can solve our problems. Ultimately He will remove humanity's greedy, selfish nature along with the wicked influence of the devil (John 8:44; Revelation 20:1-3). Only by removing the sources of man's problems can we begin to eradicate our problems. God will replace our self-centeredness with an attitude of service and love oriented toward the well-being of others. Of that day God says, "I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds" (Hebrews 10:16, NIV).

It is through the administration of the perfect government of God, in the coming Kingdom of God, that humanity will ultimately find happiness.

God's strategic solution

The Bible defines sin as "the transgression of [God's] law" (1 John 3:4, King James Version). Sin lies at the root of every human difficulty. No man can heal the countless wounds that result from sin. We can't, on our own, erase its mental and emotional agony. We can't undo the dreadful toll of warfare, slavery and persecution. It is not in us to change the greed and selfishness that motivate so many.

Sometimes we can't even differentiate between villains and victims in a world where people are too often both. We can't restructure the world and pay for the wrongs our fellow human beings have endured. The human race, from one end to the other, needs to repent, to change its ways and start afresh with a new spirit leading the way, the Spirit of God. Only with repentance, forgiveness and a change of nature can God remove and right the wrongs.

This is what it will take to do away with wars, crime, abuse, discrimination and a whole host of problems. If you wonder what you would do if you could be president, remember what real solutions entail. None of us has the intelligence, influence or stamina to fix what's wrong with the world. The solutions lie in the hands of God Himself. Let's be glad He works tirelessly to prepare to handle them when Christ returns.

You can play a part

There's an old saying: If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. What can you do to avoid being a part of the problem? Should you run for government office?

When Jesus lived on earth, setting us a perfect example, He said: "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). He didn't abolish disease, although He healed many. He didn't stop crime, yet He had compassion on its victims. He didn't stop oppression, but He taught others not to oppress anyone else. He called Himself and His disciples the light of the world, engaging them as examples of God's way of life (Matthew 5:14-16).

Those God calls today have an invitation to be examples of godly love and concern (Colossians 3:12-15). Jesus needs assistants who are willing to prepare to rule with Him while learning to choose right rather than wrong and govern their lives by the light of God's Word.

Remember Jesus' parable of the good Samaritan and learn to be a good neighbor, helping others as the opportunities arise. That is the mind-set of Christ that will guide His rule over the nations in His coming Kingdom (Matthew 25:36). An important responsibility for Christians who are concerned about righting wrongs is to pray for the leaders of their nations that God's people can proclaim the gospel of His Kingdom without undue hindrance (1 Timothy 2:1-4; Colossians 4:2-4).

An incredible future ahead

If you have ever wished you could be part of a government that really made a difference, then seek to be an ambassador of Christ's coming government (2 Corinthians 5:20). An ambassador is a representative a government appoints to represent it to others. God calls people today to be representatives of His government to all other governments and peoples. You could become one of His ambassadors, a representative to reflect His way of life.

Such a role-as Christ's ambassador-contributes a great deal toward the ultimate solution of society's problems and leads to the opportunity to reign with Him in the administration of the coming Kingdom of God (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 2:26).

In this world aspiring candidates are always making plans to gain political power in hope of advancing themselves or solving particular problems. The masses remain hopeful that some leader someday will make a permanent difference for the better.

Although that rarely happens in the age of man, such changes will be widespread in the world to come. We must awaken to an understanding of the awesome plan God is implementing for mankind. We should also learn how we can play a role in transforming the world in His coming Kingdom. GN