A question was posed on a website called "10 Interesting Questions Every Intelligent Christian Must Answer" that piqued my interest. The question was, "Why are there so many starving people in the world?" My answer is not complex and I don’t think this is a hard question. The person went on to say that if Christians believe that God helps them get raises and answers other prayers, why doesn’t he feed all the starving people on Earth? The answer lies in the fact that we live in a fallen world under the influence of the evil one where the majority of people do not believe in God and do not heed his commands.
What We Can Learn from the Israelites
The Old Testament contains much information that can give us insight into the answer to this question. God’s own people, the Israelites, went through periods of famine and devastation as happens today because of their own sin. When the kings of Israel and Judah sinned against God and led the people to worship other Gods and practice detestable acts like human sacrifice and temple prostitution God turned His face away from them, meaning they fell out of His favor, until they could get back on track and worship the one true God.
Sin Has Consequences
When people sin, they have to face the consequences of their sin. When people over-farm the land and commit communal sin, robbing the innocent and those who have no say God gets angry and lets the people reap the reward of their sin. He doesn’t necessarily punish the people but he allows their sin to come full circle until it affects them in a way that causes them to repent and turn from their sin. You see, God’s interest lies in saving souls and His people. He wants people to turn from their sin and turn to Him for help so that He can be reunited with them and save them from an eternity of separation from Him.
Over-farming the land was a small example but there are much more dirty things that God considers sin like child sacrifice, incest, idol-worship, bestiality, robbing widows and exploiting children. These type things are common in the non-Christian world. God will intervene on behalf of the innocent but He does it when there is an outcry from His children. When His children and His Holy Spirit are grieved, He answers the groans of their spirit and delivers them.
God Is Faithful
God always keeps His promises. If people would obey Him and keep a covenant to abstain from overtly sinful practices there wouldn’t be famine, over-population, pollution, and other factors that cause starvation. There are enough resources on this planet to feed everyone but most of the resources are misallocated. To those who have been given much, much more is expected (Luke 12:48). Therefore, children of God who do have financial prowess should be able to contribute to and help out those who are starving. God gives to His children abundantly so that we can share with those that don’t believe and help draw them to Him.
God Is Good
In short, I think it is unwise and unfair to blame God for the sins that the world commits. Countries that rob their people like dictatorships or those whose leaders and people don’t seek God are in the position they are in because they don’t believe in God’s saving power. Those that do believe in God are called to help the unbelieving and believing poor. If all believers made a commitment to help the poor and the poor turned to God for relief there would be no starvation on this planet.
His Solution
In Christ’s coming kingdom there will be no poor but while we are here on earth we must help the situation by committing our own resources to help those in need. 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV) says, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
