A Government to Uphold Godly Values

IMAGINE a world with only one government for people of every race and language. Imagine a government noted for protecting the loftiest of values and for eradicating war, hatred, crime, poverty, pollution, sickness, and even death!

 ‘Wonderful, but impossible,’ you might say. No, it is not impossible. In fact, it is inevitable. Jesus Christ promised such a government. He taught his followers to pray for it: “You must pray, then, this way: ‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.’”​—Matthew 6:9, 10.

Perhaps you are familiar with the words of that prayer, for millions of people around the world know it or have heard of it. But have you ever thought carefully about what those words are really saying? Notice that the Kingdom is linked to the taking place of God’s will upon the earth. What, then, is God’s Kingdom? And what is God’s will for our earth?

What God’s Kingdom Is

One definition of a kingdom is a government headed by a king. The Kingdom of God is Jehovah God’s means of expressing his universal sovereignty. It is a royal government headed by his Son, Jesus Christ. As for God’s will regarding the earth, this is expressed simply and clearly at Psalm 37:10, 11: “Just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; and you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be. But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”

So if you feel a sense of hopelessness because of this world’s deteriorating values, take heart. The Bible promises that soon the world’s conditions and values will undergo drastic change. The promise that God’s Kingdom will shortly rule over the earth to enforce God’s values is a sure basis for hope.

Learning to trust in God’s Kingdom promises can heighten our sense of security. Consider the values associated with the rule of that Kingdom: “Come, you people, behold the activities of Jehovah, how he has set astonishing events on the earth. He is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth.” (Psalm 46:8, 9) What a wonderful promise for peace and security!

In a prophecy concerning the King of God’s Kingdom, Jesus Christ, Psalm 72:12-14 says: “He will deliver the poor one crying for help, also the afflicted one and whoever has no helper. He will feel sorry for the lowly one and the poor one, and the souls of the poor ones he will save. From oppression and from violence he will redeem their soul, and their blood will be precious in his eyes.”

Bible Values

Consider some of the values the Bible promotes: “Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need.” (Matthew 5:3) Another: “Trust in Jehovah with all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding. In all your ways take notice of him, and he himself will make your paths straight.”​—Proverbs 3:5, 6.

The Bible also teaches that we are all accountable for the values we choose to live by. Consider Ecclesiastes 11:9: “Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart do you good in the days of your young manhood, and walk in the ways of your heart and in the things seen by your eyes. But know that on account of all these the true God will bring you into judgment.” Accountability for our actions is directly stated at Proverbs 2:21, 22: “The upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it. As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it.”

With this positive hope of a righteous government, how beneficial it is to develop a close friendship with God! Associating with others who also wish to be subjects of God’s Kingdom will help us put ourselves in line to experience the rulership of his glorious Kingdom and the fruitage of the marvelous values it will promote.

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The meek will “possess the earth” and “find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”​—PSALM 37:11.