Jesus, replying to the rich young ruler’s question about eternal life, asked him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God” (Matt. 19:17a). This seemingly simple admonition encapsulates a great deal of what is wrong with the world today. It is not so much that people do not believe in God, but that they have been convinced that God is not good!

Satan has done an amazing job indicting God’s goodness in this world. Deflecting the blame, Satan has men attributing all kinds of evil to God. “Why did God let that child die?” “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” “Why did God let that fire kill those people?” “Why does God create homosexuals to feel the way they do about those of the same gender and then say it is wrong?” “Why did God do … ?” You name the perceived evil or injustice in the world, and people are directly and indirectly blaming God.

Once God’s goodness is indicted and doubted, men begin to question their need for God. Why pray to a God who allows so much evil in the world? Why worship a God who is so unjust? Why serve a God who demands so much of us? It is the same old song sung by man ages bygone, just a different verse.

Consider those to whom Malachi prophesied. A brief perusal of Malachi, chapter 1, will reveal a spirit of discontent with God and His ways. It was manifest even in the sacrifices of those who still went through the motions of worshipping God. There was no reverence or awe in their hearts, only contempt and disdain.

Sadly, it is these, when they have fallen on truly desperate times, who will be the first to cry out to the Lord to save them! When He does not hear, because of their sins and irreverent hearts (cf. Isa. 59:1-2), they will again, ironically and ignorantly, indict God’s goodness and cry, “Why?”