When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it? – Amos 3:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 29, 2026): Amos 3

Why does God allow evil to happen? It is an important question, one that we seem to dance around when people ask it. Usually, I admit, even my answer is that God didn’t choose evil; we did. In every war, someone fires the first shot, and there are reasons why we go to war, some of which those in power seldom want to admit. There is a feeling in World War I that Europe was waiting for a reason to go to war. However, the framers of the conflict couldn’t imagine the devastating trench conflict that terrorized the territory for four years. But God didn’t do that. Kings and political leaders chose that path. I recently read a conversation between two soldiers, one from each side of the First World War, and according to the interview, conducted in the early days of the war, both soldiers felt that their side was on the right side of history, fighting for peace and freedom. That doesn’t surprise me. Defending the (fill in the blank with your country’s demonym here) way of life is the reason we are given whenever we go to war. I was recently reminded of a quote from former American President Jimmy Carter. “War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children” (Jimmy Carter).

So, we need to return to our question: why does God allow evil? Right now, several wars are being waged on our blue marble, and according to Carter, wars are always evil. The keyword here is “allow.” I am not saying evil originates with God; it doesn’t, it finds its genesis in us. But God still allows it. The understanding in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) is that God could have prevented it, so if he allows it, he caused it by not preventing it.

I am not sure that I know the answer to the question. Sometimes, going through times dominated by evil has caused me to rethink and reaffirm my faith. Sometimes these moments have strengthened me. Often, it has driven me to my knees in prayer for those who are affected. I would prefer to live in a world without an Adolf Hitler or even a Jeffrey Epstein. I dream of a world where we fight wars by exchanging flags and a bottle of liquor on a remote Island, as Canada and Denmark did in their most recent conflict over a piece of land. But I trust that there is a reason, even if it is just a reminder that this world is not my home, and there is something more for me in a place that God has prepared for you and for me.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Amos 4