Compared to the kingdom of God, all of the issues of this present world are boring. We must be engaged in the issues of this present world, at least to the degree that is necessary in order for us to be the salt and light we’re called to be. However, to be this salt and light, we must see and live in the kingdom to demonstrate its alternative ways and wisdom.

     Sometimes this wisdom is spoken from the mouth of the most unlikely sources, like King Nebuchadnezzar which we see in Scripture, and in recent times, by Jiang Zemin, the former leader of Communist China. Former Time correspondent, David Aikman interviewed the retiring head of state in Communist China in 2002 and asked what Zemin wished for in regard to China’s future. Zemin's response shocked Aikman, and much of the world, when he replied:

     When asked “Why?” Zemin’s response was an amazing revelation. He explained how a panel of Chinese scholars had spent twenty years studying why China continually lagged behind the West in science, industry, and culture. After considering every possible explanation, they concluded that it was the religious heritage of the West that had allowed it to reach such heights. The statement of these Chinese scholars was:

      “One of the things we were asked to do was look into what accounted for the success, in fact, the pre-eminence of the West all over the world. We studied everything we could from the historical, political, economic, and cultural perspective. At first, we thought it was because of a more powerful military. Then we thought it was because you had the best political system. Next we focused on your economic systems. But in the past 20 years we have realized that the heart of your culture is your religion: Christianity. This is why the West is powerful. The Christian moral foundation of the social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and then the successful transition to democratic politics. We don’t have any doubt about this.” (Quoted from Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity is Changing the Global Balance of Power, by David Aikman.)

     When Boris Yeltsin sought to bring democracy and freedom to Russia, one of the first things he realized was that the anti-God atheism of communism had robbed the people of a basic moral compass, so when people were free, crime skyrocketed. So Yeltsin arranged to have Christian teachers come to Russian schools and universities to teach basic moral principles. Now there is more freedom of religion in schools in Russia than in America.

     All over the world there has been a turning to Christianity, to a large degree, because of the example of the United States. The positive results where this is happening are obvious and striking. Yet at the same time, when much of the world is waking up to the power of the kingdom methodology promoted by America, America itself has been going in the opposite direction—turning from God and our Judeo/Christian heritage, which is the foundation of our greatness. The results of this turning away from our foundations are also obvious. It is amazing that we have continued down that devastating path for so long, but there is a great awakening happening and a massive turning back to our foundations. This turning back is demonstrated in public opinion polls and the many books topping the bestselling charts about our Founding Fathers, the Revolutionary War period, and the Constitution.

     When man tries to be his own god, or his own ultimate authority, there will be perpetual discord and there must be totalitarian control to keep the rebellion of man in check. Totalitarian control robs us of our basic humanity because we were created to be free. That is why the Tree of Knowledge was put in the Garden, not to cause mankind to sin, but there could be no true obedience without the freedom to disobey. Likewise, there will be no true worship if there is no freedom to worship. We were created to be free so we could know and worship God from our hearts.

     Only when we acknowledge God as the ultimate authority are we free to be who we were created to be. This is why we are told in II Corinthians 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Take away freedom, and we will become subhuman machines or automatons.

     Take away the holy fear of God from the free, and corruption and the debauchery of lawlessness will take us over. The unprecedented freedom enjoyed by Americans was only possible because of the basic religious devotion by Americans. As we lost our devotion to God as a nation, we began to also lose our freedom. Because prosperity is bound to the vision and initiative of freedom, when we lose our freedom, we will lose our initiative and then our prosperity. The panel in China was right. The root of the strength and prosperity of the West is our Judeo/Christian moral values. When they are lost, decline is inevitable, but we have a good reason to hope that they will not be lost.