4 God Is Unfair​—Is It True?

What you may have heard: “God is in charge of this world, and everything that happens is by his will. Since the world is full of discrimination, injustice, and oppression, God must be responsible.”

What the Bible teaches: God is not the source of the world’s injustice. Describing Jehovah, the Bible says: “Perfect is his activity, for all his ways are justice.”​—Deuteronomy 32:4.

God is generous toward all, including those apparently undeserving. For example, “he makes his sun rise upon wicked people and good and makes it rain upon righteous people and unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45) He treats people of all races and cultures justly, as Acts 10:34, 35 shows: “God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.”

What, then, is the source of injustice? Many people choose to act unfairly, not following God’s example of justice. (Deuteronomy 32:5) Also, the Bible shows that God is allowing his enemy, the Devil, to exercise authority over the world. * (1 John 5:19) However, God’s permission of this unjust rule will soon end. He has already set in place his means to “break up the works of the Devil.”​—1 John 3:8.

How knowing the truth helps you: You might be perplexed by the seemingly endless reports of corruption, oppression, and injustice. Knowing the cause of the trouble helps you understand why conditions are so bad and why man’s best efforts to make the world a better place consistently fail. (Psalm 146:3) Rather than devoting time and energy to making changes that would be temporary at best, you can have a sound hope for the future based on trust in God’s promises.​—Revelation 21:3, 4.

Understanding the real source of injustice can especially help us when hardship hits close to home. When we are treated unfairly, we may cry out as did God’s servant Habakkuk: “Law grows numb, and justice never goes forth.” (Habakkuk 1:4) God did not chastise Habakkuk for saying this. Instead, God reassured His servant that He had set a time for correcting matters and helped Habakkuk to find joy in the face of trouble. (Habakkuk 2:2-4; 3:17, 18) Similarly, trusting in God’s promise to correct injustice can help you gain serenity and peace of mind in an unfair world.

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Is God really responsible for suffering and injustice?

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© Sven Torfinn/​Panos Pictures