I’d say that about describes our world. Everyone does what is right in their own eyes. Everyone is their own boss, ruler, judge, and king. Everyone is following their hearts, even though their hearts are leading them toward the City of Destruction. You think it’s okay to have sex with whomever you want, whenever you want? No problem. That’s what’s right for you. That’s what is right in your eyes. You think marriage is an outdated institution that needs to be modified, or possibly even jettisoned? Okay, that’s fine. That’s what’s right in your eyes.

Can we all just agree that world is completely, catastrophically, unbelievably messed up? We’ve got men deciding they are women, white people saying they are black, ISIS beheading hordes of people, the Supreme Court obliterating traditional marriage, and Greece coming apart at the seams.

Something is desperately, fundamentally, deeply wrong with the world. Wrong with people. Wrong with us. Wrong with me. How can it be okay for a living, alert baby to be aborted? How can gender be a fluid concept which each person must decide for themselves? How can it be acceptable for police officers to dispense Western-style justice? How can an institution as fundamental as marriage be redefined by a 5-4 vote?

Something is seriously wrong with…well, everything.

Something deep and fundamental has been broken.

Why are apocalypse movies so popular right now? Because it’s not that hard to imagine! It’s not difficult to imagine a bird flu virus running rampant. It’s not hard to imagine Kim Jong-Il getting an itchy trigger finger and unleashing a nuclear fallout. It’s not that tough to imagine race wars spiraling out of control, igniting another civil war in the United States. Every day we are 75% of the way to the apocalypse.

It seems to me that we are living in the days of Judges.

In the book of Judges, we find this constant refrain: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6).

I’d say that about describes our world. Everyone does what is right in their own eyes. Everyone is their own boss, ruler, judge, and king. Everyone is following their hearts, even though their hearts are leading them toward the City of Destruction.

You think it’s okay to have sex with whomever you want, whenever you want? No problem. That’s what’s right for you. That’s what is right in your eyes.

You think marriage is an outdated institution that needs to be modified, or possibly even jettisoned? Okay, that’s fine. That’s what’s right in your eyes.

You think that women have the final choice over whether or not to allow a baby to live in their wombs? Who am I to oppose you? That’s what is right in your eyes.

You think sexual expression and freedom are the highest values, and must not be restrained in any way? I won’t stand against you, because that’s what is right in your eyes.

So what is the solution? What hope is there for our broken…no, broken isn’t strong enough. What hope is there for our evil world? How can we keep our world from completely disintegrating?

Some people think we need a return to values. We need to get back to good old-fashioned American values, by golly! We need to recover the Constitution! We need less government, more family! We need a return to the good old days, when integrity mattered and the liberal agenda wasn’t leading the way.

That’s not what we need.

We need exactly what Israel needed in the book of Judges. We need a king. God’s king.

Israel needed a king who would lead them away from what was right in their own eyes toward what was right in God’s eyes. I think it’s safe to say that’s what we need as well.

In other words, we need King Jesus.

There is clearly a time and a place for public ethical and Constitutional battles. There is a time for arguing in the public square and debating in Congress. But policy and politics cannot heal the deep and fundamental evil that dwells in us. Policy and politics are bandages – useful but not a final solution. What we truly need is the rule and reign of King Jesus, who always leads his people in righteousness and truth. We need the king who is after God’s own heart and who will lead his people toward God’s own heart. We need a King who will obliterate ISIS, restore sexual health, and establish the kingdom of God on earth.

We need King Jesus.

So what does this mean practically for us as believers? For starters, it means we should diligently pray the words of 1 Timothy 2:2 – 4:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

The reason we are to pray for those in authority is so that we might live quiet lives which are godly and dignified. When we are able to live quiet, godly, dignified lives, it creates an environment in which the gospel can take root. It creates an atmosphere for kingdom growth. We pray that our leaders would enact laws which will enable us to leave peaceably, quietly, full of holiness.

If things keep going the way they have been going, it won’t be much longer before we as Christians cannot live quiet and godly lives here in the United States. Let’s pray that God himself would intervene. For every minute we spend fretting about the current political state, let’s spend ten minutes praying for all those in high positions.

This world is colossally messed up. What we need the most is a king.

This article first appeared on Stephen Altrogge’s website, The Blazing Center, and is used with his permission.