A Future to Believe In
“Where there is no vision the people get out of hand,” a Bible writer long ago said. (Proverbs 29:18, The Jerusalem Bible) People need vision, a hope for a bright future. Otherwise they become demoralized and run wild. But is there a future we can believe in?
The theme for the Voice of Democracy essay contest this past year was “Preparing for America’s Future.” The winner of first prize at the district level in the state of Virginia was a 16-year-old girl, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She was also invited to a local Veterans of Foreign Wars meeting, where she delivered her essay to about a hundred veterans. The essay appeared in the local Saltville News-Messenger, December 15, 1988. Read her essay, and see why this youth really believes there is a beautiful future.
“Picture yourself in paradise. You are in a meadow with a plush, green carpet of grass under your feet. To the side of you is an awe-inspiring waterfall cascading over rocks down the side of a hill. Overhead hangs beautiful weeping-willow trees with clusters of violet blossoms producing the most pleasant fragrance. In the distance you see deer grazing. A grizzly bear comes up to you and allows you to pet and cuddle its massive fur. Birds of paradise are singing a delightful song. Would not that be wonderful? What a beautiful future to look forward to!
“What in that picture was missing? I did not tell you about the broken glass and soda cans polluting the stream because they were not there. I did not tell you about the worried look on your face from fear of nuclear war because it was not there. I did not tell you the sad fact that you were going to die in two months from AIDS because that was not true either. Now distinguish which scene is reality. It will not be hard. Now which is the future for Americans?
“Over a period of 40 years, from 1945 to 1985, America made 60,000 nuclear warheads, costing the nation $82 billion. That is 1,500 a year and four weapons per day. The word ‘pollution’ speaks for itself. We are witnesses to this in our own vicinity and that of neighboring counties. There is a river nearby that runs through several counties that is stagnant and stinks with chemical pollution. Where is the American frontier of vast land that the first explorers gazed upon? It is estimated that by the year 2000 three-fourths of the growing population will live in urban areas.
“There has also been an extreme breakdown in morality. As the result of years of promiscuity, in New York alone 250,000 to 400,000 are infected with AIDS. This costs each victim $50,000 each year. These low moral standards also mean that there are 12 million sexually active young people in America today. It is no wonder then that America is notable for the highest teen pregnancy rate among industrialized lands. There is also dishonesty. Time bandits, or employees who steal company time, add to America the bill of $170 billion each year.
“These are problems we are all aware of and we all must face. Granted it can be depressing, but I heard a poem once that read, ‘Two men looked out of prison bars, one saw the mud hole, the other saw the stars.’ To solve these problems we must look to the stars, meaning that we must have a positive attitude. For thousands of years man has set up governments, each different but none succeeding or withstanding very long. A prophet once said, ‘It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his steps.’ A wise king said man dominates man to his injury. To have a future we must look to the stars, not the stars on the flag, and not to the stars that astrologers claim to derive the future from, but we must look beyond that to a much higher source, our Creator.
“Our Creator promises at Psalm 46:9 to cause wars to cease. At Revelation chapter 11 and verse 18 Re 11:18 he assures us that he will bring to ruin those ruining the earth. We can also be confident in the fulfillment of Daniel 2:44, which talks about a kingdom, a government that will last forever. This perfect government will do for the earth what we pictured at the beginning of this speech.
“When we study the Bible, we learn what Jehovah God has in store for our future. President Reagan knows this is true because in 1983 he signed a resolution that was passed by both houses of Congress stating 1983 the national ‘Year of the Bible.’ This resolution recognized a ‘national need to study and apply the teachings of the Holy Scriptures.’ Mr. Reagan asked, ‘Can we resolve to reach, learn and try to heed the greatest message ever written, God’s Word and the Holy Bible? Inside its pages lie all the answers to all the problems that man has ever known.’
“Imagine again a paradise. That is the future that I believe in, when people will be motivated by love, honest and sincere. America’s problems are not unique to America. The same problems are being felt by the entire world. This we can see by simply reading the daily newspaper or watching the nightly news with Tom Brokaw. The only way to solve these problems is to look to our Creator. His original purpose for the earth was for it to be a paradise. Remember the Garden of Eden, where he put Adam and Eve? I believe he will fulfill that purpose. We just need to trust in him. So let us learn what the Bible foretells and keep our chin up to a beautiful future.”