If God is good and loving, why does He allow evil?
The tendency humanity has is to blame God for evil; we transfer the responsibility over to Him. In this article, we’ll tackle one of the most popular questions asked: If God is good and loving, why does He allow evil?
The first part of this question is based on a flawed premise, because we are making ourselves the ones to define “good.” Even the way the question is framed—“If God is good and loving, why does He allow evil?”—is us basically saying “He’s clearly not good and loving because if He was, He wouldn’t allow this and that.” So we’re already making a judgment on God. Yet, who are we to say what is and what is not good? We are not the moral authority of the universe.
Still, the question of evil persists, and we often hear the question “why?” in the aftermath of some tragedy. Remember, when God created the world, He created it perfectly. That includes His creation of man. Yet, this “perfect” man was also given the freedom of choice, or an ability to choose.
The Garden of Eden Events
God did not create evil. He gave us free will, and in the Garden of Eden, God allowed Adam and Eve to make a choice. He could have made them robots, wind-up dolls, or made them to do whatever He wanted them to—but He wanted us to follow Him out of choice.
When Adam chose to disobey God, sin, death and suffering became an inevitable part of life. Romans 5:12 states, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned” (NLT). The evil in this world is a result of that original sin.
You may say, “Wait a minute, I didn’t choose to sin. Adam did.” Yet, the Bible teaches that because Adam died, all die: “For as in Adam all die. . .” (1 Corinthians 15:22 NKJV).
Combating Evil
James 4:1 mentions “evil desires at war within you” (NLT). At the same time, God gave us standards to live by that show us how to live righteously. When we make choices that are contrary to those absolutes and standards, evil is the result.
C.S. Lewis put this question in proper perspective. He observed that it is idle for us to speculate about the origin of evil. The problem we all face is the fact of evil. The only solution to the fact of evil is God’s solution, Jesus Christ [Paul Little, How to Give Away Your Faith (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1966), p. 72]. Once you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you enter into the master plan that God has for you. For that reason, you can be assured of the promise in His Word, that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT).
God can bring good out of something horribly evil and tragic. Consider Joseph’s assessment of his brother’s wicked act of selling him into slavery. Understanding that God had allowed this to happen so that he could be a man of power in Egypt, Joseph said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:20 NLT).
We may not always understand the “whys” of a certain tragedy, but we know the “Who” that will carry us through it. He promises, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God. . .” (Isaiah 43:2–3 NKJV).
