How do you solve the world's problems?

I am a Christian -- sometimes in spite of myself.
I've never been one to fit neatly into a box. The T-shirts with the logos on them are usually a horrible fit for me.

But at the end of the day, you have to be *something* and I am a Christian.

As a Christian -- in order to call myself that -- I have to believe in Christ. So what does that mean: "believe in Christ"? Part of it means, I have to believe that, as the old bumper sticker said, "Jesus is the answer."
I always used to joke around about that, saying "what is the question"? But the truth is, it doesn't matter.

In order to be a Christian, I have to believe that Christ was right. I have to believe that the basic principles of Christianity are accurate. I'd be an idiot to knowingly be a Christian and still believe that Christianity is wrong. Can you imagine? "well, I believe that Buddha is probably right about how to live, so I'm a Christian".

When I look at the world, and the church, I don't see much of this "Christ is the answer" attitude, though.
Listen. Go to church, watch TV, read the newspapers and listen. Tear it apart, bounce it off of the sayings of Christ and think.

What you hear is that Christ is the answer, unless you're talking about money, then you need a good financial adviser. What you hear is that Christ is the answer, unless you're thinking about politics, then you need a good political agenda. Or that Christ is the answer, unless you're talking about saving your marriage, then you need a 10-step plan which involves Dr. Phil. ("How's that working for you", by the way?).

How do you address the poverty in Africa? What programs do you believe in to really solve the aids crisis? What do we do as a nation about the political instability in Central America? How do I plan for my retirement? How do I live a more healthy and active lifestyle? How do I win my lover's heart?
Christ is the answer.

We want laws. We want movements. We want organizations. We want plans and strategies. We call in the military. We apply economic pressure. We consult the pop-sages. We join Jenny Craig. We apply sound, academically approved economic models to our businesses. We set up our youth groups to mimic the way the boy scouts are organized. We read articles on how to be promoted at work. We embrace political candidates and ideas.

These are all great and everything. But Jesus didn't do any of it.
None. Zero. The closest thing to His financial adviser was Judas. The nearest He ever got to a political campaign was "Render unto Caesar...". The closest He got to starting an organization was "go ye, therefore".

And Christ is the real answer.

How do you address political corruption in Central America? You show them Christ. You help them. You serve them. You show them that there is an alternative to hatred and greed.

How do you address the aids crisis? You show them Christ. You help them. You serve them. You show them that there is an alternative to hopelessness and abuse.

How do you plan for retirement? You look at Christ. You help others. You serve them. You show people that there are other things in life besides 401Ks and early retirement.

All of the other things we chase after are great. We need to vote in November and so it is important to vote responsibly. But we need to move beyond the naivety of thinking that a President can have the answer. Presidents can impact the world, but they cannot fundamentally change it. Only Christ has that power.
Presidents can do good things or bad things that help people or hurt them. Of course, the truth is that they will do some of both. But in the end, after a zillion Presidents and Princes and Shahs and Kings, we are basically the same. The boarders change, the power shifts, the people rise and fall, but the world doesn't really change much.

Christ is the answer.

And if you believe anything else, then I would humbly assert that you're either not a Christian or a fool for following what you don't really believe.