Where Will You Put Your Trust?
POLITICAL and business leaders warn that a worldwide state of emergency is developing. Perhaps you have asked: ‘What is the solution to such urgent world problems as the stockpiling of armaments, mass poverty, food shortage, inflation and unemployment? Can we trust world leaders to provide a solution?’
Such questions are now beginning to disturb persons as never before. Vision, the widely circulated European business magazine, recently observed that what is “worst about the current situation is that no one can see a way out of it.” “There’s something else that’s gnawing at us,” agrees economic historian Robert Heilbroner. “It’s the suspicion that nobody is in charge, that nobody is equipped to deal with the problems that are rushing in on us.”
Is that how you feel, that problems have become too complex, too big, for humans to solve? On the other hand, perhaps you feel that such pessimism is unwarranted. ‘Brilliant statesmen will rise to the emergency and work problems out,’ you may say. ‘Have they not done so in the past?’
TESTIMONY OF HISTORY
That is what some persons believe. Since the human family is still here, they conclude that past civilizations must have worked out their major problems. But did they? The secretary of state for the United States, Henry Kissinger, a former Harvard University professor, noted:
“As a historian, you have to be conscious of the fact that every civilization that has ever existed has ultimately collapsed. History is a tale of efforts that failed, of aspirations that weren’t realized, of wishes that were fulfilled and then turned out to be different from what one expected. So, as a historian, one has to live with a sense of the inevitability of tragedy.”
Yes, based on experience of the past, statesmen will not be able to work out today’s threatening problems. In fact, according to Kissinger, the evidence points to the inevitability of tragedy. Nevertheless, he added: “As a statesman, one has to act on the assumption that problems must be solved.”
But, really, is that not only a wishful assumption? Is it reasonable to believe that today’s statesmen will be able to solve world problems that are much more complex than those that past leaders were unable to solve? What does the average person now think about the prospects? Vision noted:
“The man-in-the-street now feels that the men in power are incapable of coming up with effective solutions to the problems that directly confront him: inflation, unemployment, energy shortages, violence, and so on.”—January 1975, p. 21.
Is that how you feel about it too? Where will you put your trust?
In view of the evidence, do you not agree that the Bible provides good advice when it says: “Do not put your trust in nobles, nor in the son of earthling man”? (Ps. 146:3) Surely it should be clear that we need guidance superior to what humans of themselves are capable of giving. But where can such guidance be found?
A RELIABLE SOURCE IN WHICH TO TRUST
Well, consider: Is it not reasonable to look to the Creator, the One who made humans and originally put them on the earth? Is He not the best equipped to work out world problems for our good? Trust in Him is not misplaced, even as the Bible says: “Happy is the one . . . whose hope is in Jehovah his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, of the sea, and of all that is in them, the One keeping trueness to time indefinite.”—Ps. 146:5, 6.
Still you may wonder, if God is truly concerned about us, why has he not brought relief from human suffering? In his Word the Bible, God shows why.
When the first human pair rebelled against God, the Bible reveals, important issues were raised, including whether humans could, independently from God, govern their own affairs so as to bring themselves lasting benefits. God has permitted a full measure of time to settle this question—about 6,000 years. And has not the answer become clear? Is it not obvious now that humans are incapable of properly governing themselves independently of God?
Truly, humans need divine direction! And the Bible tells of the blessings that we can have by accepting God’s direction. Right now we can enjoy the peace of mind that comes with understanding God’s purposes, and soon we will actually experience the fulfillment of his Kingdom promises. Yes, under the rule of His kingdom, the Bible foretells, peace will replace rivalry and war; plenty will replace poverty and hunger; and security will replace crime and violence. The causes of sorrow, pain and death will be completely erased.—Ps. 37:10, 11; 72:7, 16; Rev. 21:1-5.
Really, there is no valid reason to disbelieve these promises of God, for we have concrete evidence of his reliability. Joshua, a member of the nation of Israel with whom God had been dealing, reminded the people: “You well know with all your hearts and with all your souls that not one word out of all the good words that Jehovah your God has spoken to you has failed. They have all come true for you.”—Josh. 23:14.
Surely we have every reason to place our trust in such a reliable God. Do you?
PROOF OF YOUR TRUST
Merely saying that you trust in God is no proof that you really do. In the first century the Jews and their priests claimed to trust in God, but when they had opportunity to demonstrate their trust in his appointed King, Jesus Christ, the priests said: “We have no king but Caesar.” (John 19:13-15) That choice proved disastrous, for, as a result, over a million of those people and their priests died in Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 C.E. But Christians, who placed their trust in God and who had obeyed the divine warning to flee Jerusalem, survived.—Luke 21:20, 21.
What are you doing today to prove that you are putting your trust in God? Simply reading his Word the Bible—although this is a fine thing—does not prove that you do. For you no doubt read newspapers or other literature as well, yet this in itself does not prove that you trust what these say, does it? But when we apply in our lives what we read, then we show that we believe and trust in that source.
Do your actions prove that you trust in God? Do you conform your life to the counsel of his Word the Bible? If so, you will not be putting your trust in human leaders to solve world problems. Rather, you will place your trust in Jehovah God and his sure promises to wipe out this unrighteous system of things and to establish good conditions earth wide by means of his Kingdom government.
Jehovah’s witnesses will be happy to help you to obtain the Bible information needed to develop a well-founded trust in God’s promises. Contact them locally, or write the publishers of this magazine, and someone will be directed to visit you at no personal expense to you.