Can you imagine a world in which there were no needs? No one would go to bed hungry. No one would lack the necessities of life. Everyone would have enough money and resources. No one would lack education. Everyone would enjoy good health.
For centuries, philosophers and politicians have attempted to devise social and political utopias which would remove all of the injustices and inequities which plague mankind. None have succeeded. None of them ever will because they only address symptoms instead of the real cause of mankind’s troubles.
Mankind’s real trouble is not economic. It is not the unequal distribution of wealth or of natural resources. Nor, is it the lack of education or opportunity. All of these things are merely symptoms of something far more significant. The real problem is not physical, it is spiritual.
The Bible tells us that when God created the world and everything in it, He declared it “very good” (Genesis 1:31). There was no want. God provided everything mankind needed for life and happiness. Not only that, mankind enjoyed perfect fellowship with God.
However, when God created mankind, He also gave people the freedom to choose. True freedom includes the possibility of rejecting what is good and embracing evil. Unfortunately, mankind chose to disobey God and do what was wrong. One of the consequences of this is that there was a change in how our needs are met. What God once freely provided, we must now work hard to obtain. Weeds now compete with food-crops. Disease and natural disasters now wreak havoc with our resources. All too often scarcity has replaced the abundance God originally provided us.
Along with the changes in nature which mankind’s disobedience caused, it also opened the door to other sin. People became selfish. They were jealous and began to covet what others had. They began to steal and take what they wanted by force. They even became willing to kill in order to get what they did not have. By the time of Noah mankind had become so corrupt that, “…every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5 NIV) No doubt in such a society there was a great deal of want and many lacked the daily necessities of life.
Many centuries later, God gave the Israelite people an outline for a perfect society. As a consequence Moses wrote, “…there should be no poor among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you,” (Deuteronomy 15:4 NIV) Yet, just a few verses later he wrote, “There will always be poor people in the land…” (Deuteronomy 15:11 NIV)
Why the contradiction? How come not even God could devise a society in which there was no poverty? It is because prosperity was conditioned upon the people keeping the covenant God made with them. Since the people were unable to fully obey God’s laws, they did not fully receive the blessings promised by those laws.
It is the same today. No one, except Christ, has been willing or able to fully measure up to God’s standard of perfection. We have all chosen to sin. We see the results all around us. Our world is full of want, disease and hunger. Want will stalk us as long as mankind chooses to sin.
Is there no hope, then? Yes there is. The answer is in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Peter writes, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV)
When we follow Christ, He gives us what we need for this life. He also changes our desires so we do not lust after things we do not need. More than that, He gives us “very great and precious” promises. Peter writes, “But in keeping with his promises we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:13 NIV) A time is coming when there will not be any more want. Every need and desire will be satisfied. The promise is for those who follow Christ. Are you one of His people?