Topic: God and Evil
Question: Why does God not seem to care about the millions of starving children in the world?
Answer: Some people blame God for the number of starving children in the world, accusing Him of lacking the power or the care He should have. It is true that hunger is a problem for many in our world, and many children suffer from malnutrition. Compassion International reports that over 3 million children die annually from malnourishment. In developing countries, 25 percent of children are underweight and at risk of suffering the long-term effects of being under-nourished. The problem is real, but the Bible teaches that God’s love is just as real.For every question that we might have about God, He has provided insight, clues, and answers already in His Word, the Bible. Jesus taught that children are important to God: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better off for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:5-6, ESV). Then, in verse 10, Jesus said, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” The fact is God cares.Relief organizations and government agencies agree that there is plenty of food in the world to feed everyone. The problem is not a lack of food but a lack of accessibility to the food. With enough food in the world to feed the entire population, the fault does not lie with God. Rather, the fault lies with the corrupt nature of man. Instead of acting as trustworthy stewards of the world’s resources, nations and individuals often hoard food, mismanage resources, and squander money instead of seeing that people are fed.God is not responsible for the foolishness of man. Neither is He responsible for greed, selfishness, hatred, pride, laziness, hoarding, cruelty, spite, callousness, or any other sin that contributes to world hunger. There is no unrighteousness in God (Psalm 92:15). All people are sinners (Romans 3:23), and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The tragedies of the world—especially preventable tragedies such as world hunger—are the result of sin (see Romans 8:22).God cares for the children of the world. He proves His care in that He sent His Son into the world to redeem us from the curse of sin. “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9).God also shows His care in that He prompts the followers of Christ to help alleviate world hunger. God is currently working to feed the hungry children of the world through many Christian agencies—Compassion International, World Vision, World Help, Feed the Hungry, Samaritan’s Purse—the list could go on and on. Christian missionaries are all over the world helping people with their basic needs while teaching them God’s Word. They do this out of love for their Lord and love for people. They do this because they “are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Ephesians 2:10).God is good, all the time. But it is often discouraging to see such evil and suffering in the world. We know that evil exists not because of God, but because of Satan, sin, and the fallen condition of mankind. We do not give up hope. We “resist in the evil day” (Ephesians 6:13, NASB). We love our neighbors as ourselves, for the sake of Him who “so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16). One day, our Lord will make all things right, and “no longer will there be any curse” (Revelation 22:3).