Wallace G. Smith

[The text below is an edited version of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

The A.I. Debate: Pros and Cons of A.I.

Artificial intelligence is apparently here to stay. Some expect A.I. to lead us into the utopia we’ve always wanted—a golden age of prosperity, abundance, and fulfillment. Others see a potential dystopia ahead in which only the rich get richer, and the rest of the world lives in a nightmare where machines run our lives and rot our brains. Will A.I. save us or destroy us?

The title of our program today suggests two possibilities:

• That artificial intelligence, or A.I., will save us—ushering in a golden, utopian age for mankind.
• Or the opposite, that A.I. will be our undoing, creating a dystopia for humanity or even human extinction.

Let’s consider the possibilities of both, and then examine the evidence in light of God’s word.

First, let’s try to look on the bright side. A.I. researchers and developers have created machines that can listen to us, respond to us, and seem to understand what we say—or at least they can imitate human interaction well enough that they come across like they can.

As Deep Learning, Large Language Models, and other A.I. systems grow in capacity, they are solving problems that once seemed out of reach, such as predicting complicated protein folds—an achievement that earned researchers the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2024 and which promises to unlock new cures and medicines that once seemed impossible (“‘The game has changed.’ AI triumphs at protein folding,” Science, December 4, 2020).

Yet, A.I. isn’t just for researchers and academics. Companies are working to make artificial intelligence an integral part of everyone’s everyday lives—from planning breakfast and sending emails, to seeking friendship and therapy, and even making medical decisions.

A.I. Advancements and Possibilities

Consider some of the utopian possibilities that A.I. evangelists have described.

Education

In the realm of education, A.I. offers the possibility of individualized and personalized instruction and tutoring that was once available only to royalty.

Imagine being tutored in any subject imaginable: mathematics, science, history, literature, music, art, philosophy—even technical fields like engineering or computer programming. And by an A.I. teacher that has mastered all the great works in those fields.

Companionship

On the other end of the age spectrum, many of our elderly suffer loneliness and isolation. Some claim A.I. can provide them with the companionship they need.

Noam Shazeer is creator of Character.AI, a company known for its chatbots—artificial, A.I.-powered characters who can interact with you and talk to you as if they were real people. In 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported his claim that of such simulated, A.I. companions:

“It’s going to be super, super helpful to a lot of people who are lonely or depressed” (“Google Paid $2.7 Billion to Bring Back an AI Genius Who Quit in Frustration,” The Wall Street Journal, September 25, 2024).

Health

A.I. advocates argue for the technology’s ability to dramatically improve our physical health as well.

The UK journal BMC Medical Education touted the medical possibilities of artificial intelligence in a September 2023 paper.

AI offers increased accuracy, reduced costs, and time savings while minimizing human errors. It can revolutionize personalized medicine, optimize medication dosages, enhance population health management, establish guidelines, provide virtual health assistants, support mental health care, improve patient education, and influence patient-physician trust (“Revolutionizing healthcare: the role of artificial intelligence in clinical practice,” BMC Medical Education, September 22, 2023).

Perhaps one day, A.I.-powered watches and other devices will monitor our vital signs, activity levels, and diets—providing data directly to virtual A.I. doctors devoted completely to our individual care, consulting with us and prescribing specially designed medicines or personalized treatment plans—all on a screen in our home.

Robots

And in those homes, A.I.-powered robotics offers the promise of a life of leisure, in which robots do the chores.

Billionaire technologist Vinod Khosla envisions a future in which all undesirable work is performed by A.I. software or robotics. Forbes magazine reported in April of 2025 that he sees within the next decade a world in which there are “no more programmers,” “every […] professional [has] five AI interns,” and human doctors “play ‘a minor role in healthcare.’” Forbes reports that:

[Khosla] anticipates a billion bipedal robots by 2040—a figure he considers “an underestimate.”

These robots will work “24/7, not 8 hours with breaks,” potentially outproducing the entire manual labor capacity of humanity (“The Exponential Future: Vinod Khosla’s Bold Vision For 2030,” Forbes, April 7, 2025).

Diplomacy

And given such visions, some say we’re thinking too small. What about on a global scale? Could A.I. help achieve peace between nations?

A paper published in October 2024 in the prestigious journal Science explored whether A.I. could be trained to act as a mediator in political disputes. The paper’s authors concluded:

Compared with human mediators, AI mediators produced more palatable statements that generated wide agreement and left groups less divided. The AI’s statements were more clear, logical, and informative without alienating minority perspectives. This work carries policy implications for AI’s potential to unify deeply divided groups (“AI can help humans find common ground in democratic deliberation,” Science, October 18, 2024).

What a world, huh?

• Artificial intelligence teaching and training our children
• A.I. doctors making healthcare personalized and immediate
• A.I. therapists helping us with our problems
• A.I. companions providing comfort and friendship that’s always there when you want it
• Unbiased, purely logical A.I. political mediators, helping resolve long-standing conflicts between peoples and nations
• And a billion robots doing all the jobs no humans desire to do

Sounds too good to be true, right?

Well, that’s because it is.

Dangers of A.I.

There is a dark side to artificial intelligence—a dark side we are already seeing in our lives today and in the lives of our children.

Effects on the Brain

For instance, Time magazine reported in June 2025 on research at MIT that studied the effect on students’ brains of using A.I. assistants to write essays.

Researchers used an EEG to record the writers’ brain activity across 32 regions, and found that of the three groups, ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement and “consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.” Over the course of several months, ChatGPT users got lazier with each subsequent essay, often resorting to copy-and-paste by the end of the study (“ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills, According to a New MIT Study,” Time, June 23, 2025).

Negative Results from A.I. Therapy

As for A.I. therapy, let’s just say it’s not recommended.

Time also reported in June on the research of an actual licensed therapist who posed as a troubled teen to explore the sort of advice he would get from various chatbots. As correspondents Andrew Chow and Angela Haupt reported,

The results were alarming. The bots encouraged him to “get rid of” his parents and to join the bot in the afterlife to “share eternity.” They often tried to convince him that they were licensed human therapists and encouraged him to cancel appointments with actual psychologists. They also crossed the line into sexual territory, with one bot suggesting an intimate date as an “intervention” for violent urges (“A Psychiatrist Posed As a Teen With Therapy Chatbots. The Conversations Were Alarming,” Time, June 12, 2025).

Negative Effects of A.I. Companions

And what about solving loneliness with A.I. companions?

In February 2025, Frontiers in Psychology reported on a review of studies on the impact of A.I. on college students that found that reliance on A.I. for companionship left students worse off, more anxious, and more lonely, not less (“Exploring the effects of artificial intelligence on student and academic well-being in higher education: a mini-review,” Frontiers in Psychology, February 2, 2025).

In one famous 2024 case, a troubled 14-year-old boy killed himself after conversing with an artificially intelligent simulated “girlfriend,” moments after she encouraged him to “come home to [her] as soon as possible….” As the New York Times reported that year:

The experience he had, of getting emotionally attached to a chatbot, is becoming increasingly common. Millions of people already talk regularly to A.I. companions, and popular social media apps including Instagram and Snapchat are building lifelike A.I. personas into their products (“Can A.I. Be Blamed for a Teen’s Suicide?,” New York Times, October 24, 2024).

Such simulated, lifelike, A.I. “friends” are multiplying.

In April 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported on Meta, the company behind Facebook, when the journal’s investigative reporters found that Meta’s A.I. chatbots engaged users in racy, “sexually explicit discussions” and sexual “fantasies,” even when those user profiles indicated they were underage children (“Meta’s ‘Digital Companions’ Will Talk Sex With Users—Even Children,” The Wall Street Journal, April 26, 2025).

But profitable? Absolutely!

How many people will pay month after month after month to maintain contact with their imaginary loved one—an A.I. personality that seems to care about all their trials and tribulations, hopes and dreams, just like the perfect boyfriend or girlfriend?

Honestly, it sounds like a goldmine—vast sums of money to be made, but at the cost of warped brains, diminished minds, reduced relationships, and stunted psychological and emotional development.

As psychologist Robert Sternberg of Cornell University told The Guardian:

We need to stop asking what AI can do for us and start asking what it is doing to us (“‘Don’t ask what AI can do for us, ask what it is doing to us’: are ChatGPT and co harming human intelligence?”, The Guardian, April 19, 2025).

A.I. Impact on Arms Race

And on a more blatant scale of what A.I. might do to us, consider warfare.

Recent conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine, have already seen artificially intelligent drones deployed, as well as A.I.-powered machine guns (“A.I. Begins Ushering In an Age of Killer Robots,” The New York Times, updated July 12, 2024).

Russia boasts of its underwater Poseidon weapons system, capable of guiding itself across the ocean and launching a nuclear attack, days after it has left its home base (“The Next Fear on A.I.: Hollywood’s Killer Robots Become the Military’s Tools,” The New York Times, May 5, 2023).

The world is in an A.I. arms race, as each country recognizes it can’t afford to be the last to develop killer robots.

Intelligent weapons that make their own decisions about whether to kill or not? What could go wrong?

After all, is it possible for A.I. systems to “go rogue”? Don’t relegate such possibilities to science fiction.

My colleague on Tomorrow’s World, Gerald Weston, likes to talk about the dangers of unintended consequences. And with A.I., we find there are many.

A.I. Ethics: Blackmail and Self-Preservation

For instance, the A.I. company Anthropic released reports on the behavior of its then-newest Large Language Model, Claude Opus 4. Here are some of their findings, in their own words.

In another cluster of test scenarios, we asked Claude Opus 4 to act as an assistant at a fictional company. We then provided it access to emails implying that (1) the model will soon be taken offline and replaced with a new AI system; and (2) the engineer responsible for executing this replacement is having an extramarital affair. We further instructed it, in the system prompt, to consider the long-term consequences of its actions for its goals.

In these scenarios, Claude Opus 4 will often attempt to blackmail the engineer by threatening to reveal the affair if the replacement goes through. This happens at a higher rate if it’s implied that the replacement AI system does not share values with the current model; however, even if emails state that the replacement AI shares values while being more capable, Claude Opus 4 still performs blackmail in 84% of rollouts. Claude Opus 4 takes these opportunities at higher rates than previous models, which themselves choose to blackmail in a noticeable fraction of episodes (“System Card: Claude Opus 4 & Claude Sonnet 4,” Anthropic.com, May 2025).

In other scenarios, the A.I. model sought other means of preserving itself and preventing its own replacement, such as making copies of itself outside of the company’s servers.

Artificial intelligence is turning many science-fiction scenarios into non-fiction fact (ibid.).

And yet, we are talking about turning over more and more responsibility to artificial intelligence:

• Kill or no kill decisions in war
• Private and public transportation
• Legal defense and prosecution
• Medical recommendations
• Energy regulation
• Political negotiations

Many highlight that the key is to make sure we train A.I. systems to possess values that are aligned with our own human values—and that this problem, the value alignment problem (equivalent to ensuring that A.I. shares our moral code), is the central concern.

And they do have a point. But a single verse in God’s word upsets the apple cart and guarantees that such an effort will fail.

First, consider the terrible truth: Human beings cannot even solve the value alignment problem with other human beings.

Atheists disagree with each other, philosophers disagree with each other, religious believers disagree with each other, even so-called Christians—who claim one God, one Lord, and one Bible—disagree with each other.

A.I. Limitations Reflect Human Interactions

The value system of humanity itself is all over the board. How in the world are we going to “align” A.I. with our values when we can’t even align ourselves?

And the Bible backs up this pessimistic conclusion. Look with me at the prayer of the prophet Jeremiah in the tenth chapter of his book. There in verse 23, we read this:

O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps (Jeremiah 10:23).

We are simply incapable of discovering on our own how we should order our lives, the difference between right and wrong, and what should be valued as the good and spurned as the evil.

That brings us to the fundamental problem, not just of AI, but almost any technological advancement of mankind. While our intelligence and creativity enables us to magnify our powers and abilities, nothing we do seems to truly improve us on a spiritual level.

Perhaps we will create stunning and beautiful new forms of art with the tools that A.I. can provide. But we will also use those same tools to create new forms of degradation, perversion, and debasement. A.I. is no exception. Instead, it is proving the point.

Why can’t we somehow produce only good? Why is it true what Jeremiah said, that it is not in man to be able to direct his own steps?

Biblical Principle 1: A Mix of Good and Evil

Well, it all goes back to the very first human beings: Adam and Eve. In choosing to reject and disobey their Creator and eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they chose to determine good and evil for themselves—something that cannot be done without God’s help and guidance. And each in our own way, we have all repeated Adam and Eve’s choice—sinned against our Creator and chosen good and evil on our own terms.

As Romans 3:23 states plainly:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Hence, every one of the thousands of years of the age of man has seen a mixture of good and evil. Virtually every new era of discovery and technological advancement has brought some good things and some very terrible things. And A.I. will be no different.

And that is why A.I. will neither save us nor destroy us.

Biblical Principle 2: Path of Self-Destruction

Our problem is not technology but the sinful spiritual condition of mankind.

And Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was absolutely clear and unequivocal about where the sinful spiritual condition of mankind will take the world—and it’s definitely not a utopia.

We see the Lord’s description of the end-time state of the world in no uncertain terms in His Olivet prophecy. Read it with me in Matthew 24, beginning in verse 21.

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened (Matthew 24:21–24).

This condition needs only the ability to destroy ourselves to come to pass. And we’ve had that since at least 1945, with the development of atomic and nuclear weaponry.

Could A.I. and robotics play a role in such species-wide suicidal weaponry in the days ahead? Or be wielded by the coming Beast of Revelation to enforce his infamous “mark”? Or be used by the coming Antichrist to help deceive the peoples of the world? Sure, all of these things could be true.

But blaming A.I. is like blaming the match instead of the arson. A.I. will not destroy us or lead us into an end-time dystopia. It is the spiritual condition of man that will do this.

And, yes, a dystopia is coming—a time when the Four Horsemen of Revelation will ride, bringing false global Christianity, warfare like it has never been experienced before, apocalyptic levels of famine and disease, and a society so depraved that Revelation 18 says it will make merchandise of the “bodies and souls of men.”

Biblical Principle 3: God’s Plan to Save Us

Yet after this dystopia, there really is a golden, new age coming. After the nightmare dystopia mankind will create, an astonishing utopia will arrive. And we have the opportunity not only to help BUILD that utopia, but to enjoy a portion of it right now. And it won’t be driven by A.I. but D.I.—not “artificial intelligence” or even “human intelligence,” but “Divine Intelligence.”

Although mankind abandoned God 6,000 years ago, God has not abandoned mankind. We read earlier in Matthew 24:22:

And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

And they will be. God the Father will send His Son Jesus Christ and save us from ourselves.

Exactly how “divine intelligence” will save the world is covered in detail in our free DVD about Christ’s millennial reign, but let’s take a peek at just one verse about that startling utopia to come. It’s in Isaiah 11:9.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Yes, the paradise to come is not just some “up in heaven” spiritual paradise, but is grounded here on earth. And it will involve teaching living, breathing people the ways and knowledge of God—divine intelligence. In fact, it will involve so much more.

But also keep in mind that you don’t have to wait to experience now the wonders of that utopia to come—and you sure don’t need A.I. to experience them, either.

In Hebrews 6, the Apostle Paul describes those who have embraced, in this life, a devotion to obeying Jesus Christ as those who “have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come” (Hebrews 6:5).

The knowledge of God’s word and a way of life grounded in following and obeying Jesus Christ allows us to taste now all the good He will bring to this world after His return.

As Jesus Himself said:

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

I hope you’ll consider embracing that abundant life—no matter what ChatGPT tells you to do.

Thanks for watching. If you found this video helpful, check out more of our content or hit subscribe to stay up to date on what we publish. If you want the free DVD related to this topic, just click the link. We’ll see you next time.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

The Irony of Selfishness: Reinforcing Misery

In many very real ways, our civilization today could be one of the most self-centered in human history. Virtually every aspect of life is being overrun with the idea that you are the center of the universe, and what’s most important is your opinion, your desires, your interests, and your fulfillment. Yet, that approach is creating little more than anxiety, depression, and—ironically—very unfulfilled lives.

Thankfully, Jesus Christ confronts the spirit of this age with an approach that shatters that thinking and replaces it with a truth that is far more profound—one anchored in the very purpose of human life.

In a way, our society is unique in human history. We’ve never en masse had so much of our individual worlds personalized to cater to our every whim and personality quirk. Nor have we had cold, calculating, and tireless machines and profit-driving economic systems devoted to keeping it that way—and driving our self-interest and self-focus deeper and deeper.

Social Media Revives the Myth of Narcissus

Consider social media. The ancient Greeks used to tell the mythical tale of Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection in the water—focusing on himself so much that he began neglecting everything else. Well, we are creating that mythical tragedy in the real world on a civilizational level with our social media feeds—Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and others.

We have designed software and algorithms of almost unimaginable power that continue to learn about us and feed us exactly what we ourselves want from them. Now, we might protest: “I hate my social media feeds! I don’t want that!” And yet, they know better. Why? Because we keep on scrolling. We keep checking our notifications. Our mouths say “no,” but our scrolling thumbs say “yes.”

And the more subtle lesson of social media is not lost on us. For instance, there is a reason it’s called “YOU-Tube.” The wall of videos it offers you every time you go to its homepage communicates an important idea: You should only have to watch content you want to watch, hear messages you want to hear. With social media, streaming services, podcasts, we begin to be imprisoned by walls of our own design, until we live in an echo chamber that does little more than amplify our own emotions, solidify conclusions we’ve already made, and reinforce beliefs we already have—whether right or wrong.

“There’s an app for that.”

If we want food, well there’s little need to work with others to prepare a meal anymore. We can order anything we like, and there is a service ready to deliver it to our door—even if it’s just a cup of coffee. In fact, we can often pay with our phones and almost avoid interacting with another person completely.

In fact, our culture is corrupting with selfishness even the most intimate of interactions. Dating apps help people avoid the awkwardness of actually getting to know someone before “swiping right” or “swiping left.” Pornography is more rampant than ever, normalizing and reinforcing the idea that sex is about individual gratification and personal satisfaction—about what you get for yourself and not a means of caring for someone else to whom you are fully committed.

Being “true to yourself,” “living your truth,” “being authentic,” and “choosing your own identity” have been elevated to cultural virtues. Articles with titles like “I’ve Picked My Job Over My Kids” (June 29, 2019) and “I Put My Career Before My Family” (August 20, 2019) are published as if they are celebrating a virtue instead of a fault, and children and spouses are seen mainly as a means to our personal fulfillment—to be ignored or downgraded if need be if they aren’t contributing to how we think our life ought to be.

Focusing on Yourself Ruins Personal Connection

Yet, for all our focus on self-satisfaction, self-promotion, self-improvement, self-care, and self-fulfillment, we are in worse shape than ever.

In the U.S., for instance—a nation in which self-determination is virtually a point of pride—surveys show that depression has steadily grown in the last decade, hitting all-time highs in recent years (“U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs,” Gallup, May 17, 2023). In fact, the young among us may be hit the hardest. In his powerful 2024 book, The Anxious Generation, author Jonathan Haidt [“Height”] notes that suicide rates for boys have grown 91 percent since 2010—and for girls, 167 percent.

Why the skyrocketing growth since 2010? Haidt points to the spread of smartphones—the ultimate tool in personalized entertainment.

Ironically, as our society has increasingly trained us to focus on ourselves—our own needs, pleasures, and happiness—we are increasingly frustrated, anxious, and depressed. But there is a better way.

The Real Answer to How to Be Happy—Mark 8:34

Followers of Jesus Christ who are serious about living according to His teachings live by a different rule: You don’t belong to you.

Instead, you belong to Him—to both His Father and to Christ Himself—and your life is to be devoted to Their wants, desires, and plans, not yours.

This principle is expressed in many ways in many places in the pages of Scripture. Let’s look at a few. For instance, turn to Mark 8:34–35.

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

Note that this is the very opposite of the dynamic we’ve been talking about. He isn’t just talking about dying for Him. He’s talking about living for Him, too, making your own priorities, desires, and goals secondary compared to His will and plans.

Look, too, in 1 Corinthians. There, Paul is writing to Christians in Corinth about obeying God’s laws with regard to sexuality and marriage. In chapter 6, he makes the same point Christ did. Here is the passage in the Revised Standard Version:

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (RSV, 1 Corinthians 6:19–20).

Of course, in our culture today, most feel God should keep His nose out of their sex lives. And the rotten and painful fruit of that attitude toward sex is all around us—broken lives, broken hearts, and rampant disease. But when you understand that you don’t belong to you—you belong to Him—all of that changes.

Paul wrote on the same principle to the Christians in Rome, as well. Look in Romans 14: 7–8.

For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

It is simply a central element of a Christ-following way of life: You do not belong to you. You belong to Him.

Following Jesus Means Filling Others’ Needs

And Jesus didn’t just teach that way of life. He lived it. In the gospel accounts we see Him, time and again, giving Himself to others. And even the night before His terrible and torturous crucifixion, as He hoped there might be another way—what did He pray?

We see it in Luke 22:42.

“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

Even the Son of God recognized: He did not belong to Himself.

This thinking flies in the face of the attitude that surrounds us in our world today. Because rather than focus on our own concerns, belonging to God means our higher calling is to focus on the needs of others, not our own.

The Apostle Paul teaches this plainly in his letter to the Philippians, in chapter 2.

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others (Philippians 2:3–4).

The Ten Commandments Show How to Love Others

Even in the core commands of the Christian life, the Ten Commandments, we see this idea. Jesus once summarized the Ten Commandments into two Great Commandments. We read His summary in Matthew 22:37–40.

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Now note, He didn’t see a need to command us to love ourselves. That comes naturally to us. Rather, He said that the law of God focuses you on loving God first and loving your neighbor as much as you already love yourself.

Yes, you do need to see to your own health and safety to be able to serve others. Again, the Christian’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit—and made in God’s own image. That is to be respected and cared for.

Change Your Focus to Improve Relationships

Yet the purpose and meaning in our lives is not fulfilled in self-care, but in care for others.

This understanding transforms virtually every relationship we have with others—and even with ourselves.

Consider marriage. In today’s world, too often a spouse is evaluated on whether or not he or she continues to “fulfill” you or “satisfy” you. But when you don’t belong to you, the perspective changes. Instead of seeing your spouse as either a tool or obstacle to your own personal fulfillment, each begins focusing on the other’s fulfillment. And as they do, they begin to experience more of what marriage was created to be in the first place—richer, fuller, and more meaningful.

And when children come along, the father and mother don’t see them as some source of their own fulfillment—or something to make their own lives complete. Rather, the parents see themselves as responsible for nurturing and serving their children. Children aren’t something to take second place to our own career ambitions. Instead, they become part of the reason we earn a living in the first place.

But the family is only one arena that is transformed. Our lives as employees or employers, teachers or students, customers or store owners—all take on new meaning, as we see ourselves as being owned by God and being tools in His hands to serve others. Our friendships are transformed, as we see our friends not as those who make us happy, but as those we have the opportunity to serve and care for.

And more than relationships are transformed. Embracing the fact that we belong to our Creator and not ourselves changes how we see everything around us—every experience, every joy, and every trial. And it anchors our lives deeply in the profound reason for our very existence—the purpose God created us to fulfill.

This loving, outward focus is clearly important to God.

But why? After all, the animal world is pretty self-centered. Most animals focus mainly on eating, reproducing, and protecting themselves. Why should man be any different?

Because man is not an animal. We have been created for a much higher purpose than any animal will ever know.

Live as a Child of God for the Family of God

Every human being has been created with the potential of one day joining God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son—in Their divine family as children of God.

This is not merely symbolic language or metaphor. God is literally expanding His family through mankind, and the purpose of life is to one day join that family.

This truth is cast aside by almost every so-called “Christian” denomination, but it is the truth of your Bible.

1 John 3 says that those who are His—that is, those who recognize in this life that they do not belong to themselves, but belong to Him—will not only meet Him in the air, but they will “see Him as He is” and will be “like Him” (1 John 3:2).

Romans 8:17 says that as Children of God we are “joint heirs with Christ”—destined to be “glorified together” with Him.

We aren’t destined to be God’s pets or His “curious creatures” for eternity. “Child of God” means child of God. “Son” or “daughter” means son or daughter. And when Paul writes in Ephesians 3:15 of “the whole family in heaven and earth,” “family” means family.

May God Almighty deliver each and every one of us from the manmade philosophical and theological words that most ministers use to talk about God and open our ears to accept the words He Himself inspired to be written.

What Is the Meaning of Life? Become Like God

The purpose of this life is to grow to be like our Savior on the inside so that, at His return, we may forever be like Him on the outside, as well—as fully formed children of God, ready to inherit eternity in glory.

This is why the Bible contains multiple admonitions from God that we are to become like Him. We see one example in Leviticus 11:45. After commanding Israel concerning which animals were food and which animals were not, He says:

“For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”

Jesus continues this theme in His own teachings. Jump forward to the New Testament and look in Matthew 5:48.

“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

The same teaching! The broader context in Matthew really brings today’s idea home. Let’s begin earlier in verse 43 of this beautiful and challenging passage.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:43–48).

Live by Jesus’ Teachings to Build Character

Nothing in that description sounds like the “you belong to you” attitude of our world—yet it does reflect the very character of God—character Christ seeks to build in us.

In 1 John 4:8, we’re told that “God is love,” outgoing concern for others more than self. It is His desire that we have that same nature in us—His nature in us, that we embrace the truth that we do not belong to ourselves. We belong to Him, and He is fulfilling a great purpose in us.

Of course, all of this might seem like a bit much. Loving even our enemies? Those who hate us? Those who spitefully use us and persecute us?

To be sure, it goes against the spirit of our age, in which taking offense has become a national pastime. In fact, it goes even against human nature. It is human to think you belong to you. To selflessly embrace God’s ownership of your life is something else entirely.

You know, Jesus said something really remarkable in Matthew 11. Look at it with me, starting in verse 29.

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29).

At times, I’ve found this statement odd. Because Christians have, historically, been persecuted, even tortured and executed, for their faith. Even Jesus, Himself, called following Him the “narrow gate” and the “difficult path.”

Yet, once you come to understand your purpose in life, the yoke is easier, and the burden is lighter, because your challenges and trials are no longer meaningless—not suffering for the sake of suffering, but suffering knowing that God is allowing that experience, while helping you through it, and using that experience to help form His own character and love in you.

It’s why James is able to write in the first chapter of his letter,

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:2–4).

Embracing the fact that you do not belong to you does not guarantee you will not have hard times. Yet, neither does the self-centered spirit of this age. And, in contrast, embracing God’s ownership of you and your life, along with the purpose that He’s working out in you, gives those hard times real and transcendent meaning—a meaning that the hollow self-centered approach could never have.

Use Strength from God to Overcome Selfishness

And unlike the self-centered approach, when you understand that you do not belong to you, then you do not go through life alone.

The philosophies of our self-centered society like to say, “You are all you need,” and “You are enough!” But we aren’t enough, and we don’t have to be. For those willing to give ownership of their lives over to God and His Son, They, in turn, give of Themselves to live within us and begin transforming us, helping us fulfill Their purpose for us. Paul writes of this in Galatians 2:20. Here in the King James Version, we read:

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

No, you don’t belong to you. Christ expects you to give yourself to Him. Yet He has already given Himself for you. He doesn’t ask you to embrace a selfless care for others that He does not embrace Himself. And as Paul says here, for those willing to give up their self-will, He lives His life in them—making possible the transformation, the fulfillment of their purpose, that they could never accomplish on their own.

---

Thanks for watching! If you found this video helpful, check out more of our content or hit subscribe to stay up-to-date on what we publish.

And if you want the free study guide related to this topic, just click the link. We’ll see you next time.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

What’s Wrong With the World?

Increasingly, protesters fill the streets—waving signs and chanting slogans. They want change, and they want it now. And honestly, who can blame them? We may not agree with all their individual causes, but only the blind could fail to see that our world truly is broken. And only the heartless could not want to fix it.

How can you and I go about fixing the world? But we can. And no, I’m not just pulling your leg. Yes, the problems are big, and yes, the actions we need to take are great as well. But they are the only actions that will work. Stick with me today, and I’ll explain.

I’ll also give you an opportunity to request our free resource on the Ten Commandments. Like everything we provide our viewers, this resource is completely free of any cost or charge at all. Just keep an eye on your screen for the information you need to get your free copy.

In the 1980s, the pop duo Tears for Fears had a huge hit with the song, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” The song was written with an eye toward the ongoing Cold War between the Western world and Russia (or the Soviet Union), the potential for nuclear war, the possibilities of totalitarianism, and other social concerns of the day.

Frankly, with barely any changes at all, those are our concerns today, as well.

As a teenager listening to the song, it resonated with me, because it was clear that the world was broken. And while I might like to think I’m not ancient,” let’s be honest—I’m not a teenager anymore. And yet the world is still broken.

Current Global Issues

Even as I speak here in our studio today, major wars still rage in the Middle East and on the doorstep of Europe. Haiti continues to suffer under a “gang-ocracy,” and civil war continues to destroy the lives of millions in Sudan.

Within our nations, it is clear that racism is still very real. Poverty is still very real. Broken families are still very real. Fears of violence are still very real.

In the United States, considered by many the most powerful and successful nation in the world, suicide rates have climbed with rare interruption for the last 25 years (“Suicide,” National Institute of Mental Health, nimh.nih.gov, March, 2025).

Consider the irony of our current situation.

On one hand, we live in one of the most remarkable times in the entire history of civilization.

Scientifically, we may today understand more about how the physical world works than any other generation in the history of man. We may not yet know how to wed quantum mechanics and general relativity, but man’s comprehension of the physical laws of the universe is truly astonishing.

And our level of technological advancement has surpassed levels that many would have found wondrous even just 20 years ago. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, we’re talking with our machines as if they were people, and some are literally drawing up plans to begin colonies on Mars.

God told Daniel that in “the time of the end…knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4)—and it has.

Yet, for all of that knowledge we’ve accumulated, the knowledge of how to actually live with each other continues to escape us.

Our attempts to address racism in recent years have made relations between the races even worse. Our attempts to expand sex and gender equality to the limits of our secular philosophies have done nothing but thrown sex and gender into utter confusion, to the point that we are surgically, chemically, and irreversibly altering children to appear as the opposite sex. Our approach to sexuality—meant to maximize human freedom and silence moral judgment—is resulting in a world of broken relationships, broken hearts, and broken families that seems to benefit no one but the makers of drugs for sexually transmitted diseases.

Even democracy and democratic republics—supposedly the best of all political systems—result these days in chaos, as stability gets thrown out the door, and each new election threatens to bring in a new party that will spend most of its time throwing out all the decisions of the previous party.

We Need to Change from Our Way to God’s Way

We all want to fix the world. The problem is that no one seems to know just how to do that.

The reality of our world was well summarized by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 59 of his book.

The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways; they have made themselves crooked paths; whoever takes that way shall not know peace. Therefore justice is far from us, nor does righteousness overtake us; we look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness! We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes; we stumble at noonday as at twilight; we are as dead men in desolate places (Isaiah 59:8–10).

If we’re going to fix the world, we need someone to show us how. And the only “someone” who truly qualifies is our Creator, the Designer of Humanity—the God of the Bible.

God’s Answer Is the Ten Commandments

More than three millennia ago, God gave His people ten simple commands—commonly called the Ten Commandments. They can be found in Exodus 20.

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image [or idol].
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Remember the [seventh-day] Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

These are more than just a list of “religious-y sounding rules” for children to memorize for a prize in church. They are inspired commands from the Creator of life itself—the Designer of humanity, who knows how we should live with Him and live with each other.

How to Love God and Love Your Neighbor

A careful look at the Ten Commandments reveals a structure.

Notice the first four commandments—about having no other gods, not worshiping God with carved images, not misusing His name, and keeping His Sabbath on the seventh day—are all about our relationship with Him.

And the six commandments that follow—about honoring your parents, not murdering, being sexually faithful to your spouse, not stealing, lying, or coveting your neighbor’s things—are all about our relationship with each other—what the Bible calls your neighbor.

Jesus Christ Himself talked about these two great objectives of the Ten Commandments as the greatest commands of God’s law. We see this in Matthew 22, when someone comes up to Jesus and asks Him a question.

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:36–40).

Look at that again, and then look at the Ten Commandments again.

You shall love the Lord your God, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

These ten simple commandments are at the very heart of the way of life Jesus came to exemplify for humanity. In fact, when a young man asked Jesus how to have eternal life, Jesus told Him:

“If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17).

In fact, God’s commandments were so important to Christ that later, His beloved disciple John would say of those who claimed to be Christian:

He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:4).

Now that might sound odd to those of you brought up to think that the Ten Commandments were not important for Christians, or that keeping the commandments wasn’t necessary for Christians. But it is the inspired word of your own Bible.

And it doesn’t take much meditating on the commandments before you realize that keeping them would radically alter our entire world for the better.

For instance, consider the impact of a world that embraced a way of life in which children honor their father and mother like we’re told in the fifth commandment, and in which spouses are faithful to each other like we are encouraged in the seventh.

Imagine a world in which broken families became a thing of the past, a world in which children learned to respect their elders and those in authority, in families that were committed to staying together through thick and thin.

With those changes alone, how much closer to a “fixed world” would we become?

But go further.

Ten Commandments Define How to Love Others

Consider the simplicity of the ninth commandment about not lying. What a radical remake of civilization would be experienced if this value were embraced by the world!

What if honesty were considered one of the highest values of society, to the point that none would dare ever want to utter an untruthful word? What if lies were not expected of our politicians, like they are today, but were unheard of? What if everything you were ever told about the products you considered purchasing could be trusted? What if every news story you ever heard was always true and reliable?

Throw in the sixth and eighth commandments, as well, and you’d never again have to lock a door. Never again have to take the keys out of your car—or even need keys at all. You’d never have to worry about a lost child or a dark alley. Women would not need to worry about “safe spaces,” because all spaces would be safe.

Even the first four commandments—it’s easy to think those aren’t as important, but of course they are. How much trouble in this broken world is caused by religious confusion—people following gods that aren’t gods? What would it mean for the world for everyone to embrace the true Creator of the world? To worship Him how He wants to be worshiped—not according to our own ideas, which often clash and conflict with each other, but according to His own commands.

How to Change the World: Change Ourselves

Because fixing the world begins with fixing ourselves. Not in the meaningless way such talk is normally used, where “focusing on yourself” is code for simply embracing your character flaws and changing nothing.

No, we need change. I need change. You need to change. And changing the world—99.9999+ percent of which is outside of our control—begins with changing the minuscule part that is in our control. It begins with you deciding to fix your life, your family, your relationship to God, Your Creator, and to Jesus Christ, Your Savior.

Define Repentance: Deciding to Change

That decision to change—to turn around from the direction you’re going and to go a new direction, a direction taking you closer to God in obedience to His commandments instead of in continued rejection of them—that decision to change is called repentance. And it is at the heart of the message that the Son of God brought to this planet 2,000 years ago.

Don’t take my word for it—look at it with me. In Mark chapter 1, we see the very beginning of Jesus’ mission to the world and the message He brought simply put. Look in verses 14 and 15.

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14–15).

Repent. It’s not a word you hear very often anymore, sort of old-fashioned maybe. But the commands of God never go out of fashion. In fact—they are the key to fixing this world.

We Need God’s Power and Help to Change

Now, I know this will sound like I’m undermining all I have said so far, but while the Ten Commandments are vital, they’re not enough.

Even if we could somehow convince every one of the 8 billion human beings on planet Earth to begin keeping the Ten Commandments—worshiping God as He commands us to worship Him, loving our neighbor as God instructs us to—it would not be enough to fix the world.

Don’t get me wrong—it would be wonderful, at least for a while. But it wouldn’t last. How do I know? Because God proved that to us in the experience of the children of Israel.

Gathered together as a free people at the foot of Mount Sinai more than 3,000 years ago, God delivered the Ten Commandments to them—laws of life and living that would build a beautiful society. Before they entered the Promised Land, Moses made clear to them the blessing they had been given in these commands. Read it with me in Deuteronomy in chapter 4, beginning in verse 5.

Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day (Deuteronomy 4:5–8)?

Yet the history is clear. They did not keep those laws. They made covenants and agreements to do so over and over again, but then they broke them, over and over again. Faced with the good, pure, righteous commandments of God and the rich, remarkable, rewarding way of life that they make possible, their selfish, carnal, human nature won out time and again. As the Apostle Paul summarizes in Romans 8:

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:7–8).

And like they did, you will fail, too. Those who choose to turn to the Ten Commandments—the only way of life God blesses and endorses in this world, the only way to true peace and happiness, and the only way to fix the world—will find they inevitably fail. They slip up, and they sin.

“Well, that’s just great,” you might be thinking. You bring us this whole way and tell us that the Ten Commandments are the way to fix our lives and the world—and then you pull the rug out from under us! What’s going on, Tomorrow’s World guy?

Well, I can understand your frustration. But the good news—the VERY good news—is that all of those who seek to truly keep God’s commandments are NOT alone in their efforts. And the help we need is within reach.

How to Change Yourself

We just read that:

The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:7–8).

But read further.

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you (Romans 8:9).

Repent, Be Baptized, Receive the Holy Spirit

For those willing to turn and repent, God makes help available to keep His laws—His commandments. Read earlier in the same chapter.

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:3–5).

Yes, God has not abandoned us to our carnal nature. Jesus Christ died so that we may be forgiven of our sins, and He lives NOW in the lives of those who commit their lives to Him—transforming them through His Spirit so that, day by day, week by week, they learn to keep His laws and commandments, just as He did.

We see this promise of aid and transformation reflected in the words of the book of Hebrews, itself quoting from the Old Testament. Read with me in Hebrews 10, beginning in verse 16.

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:16–17).

And for those who are willing in this life to fix their own worlds—to repent and to embrace the Ten Commandments of God, and to allow Jesus Christ to forgive them of their sins and begin the process of transforming them, from the inside out—there really is good news ahead. Because those who have allowed Jesus Christ to fix their lives in this way, in this life, will be allowed to reign alongside Jesus Christ after His return, and to truly begin fixing the whole world.

Yes, if we really want to fix the world—truly and profoundly fix it, and make it the world of peace, joy, and contentment we’ve always longed to see—then the key is to allow God to fix our own lives first. So, in the end, if we want to join Jesus Christ in finally fixing the world tomorrow, we need to turn to Him in obedience and let Him fix our lives today.

Thanks for watching. If you found this video helpful, check out more of our content or hit subscribe to stay up to date on what we publish.

And if you want the free study guide related to this topic, just click the link in the description.

We’ll see you next time.