Questions from kids about God
From a 6-year-old boy: Why did God make bad germs?
He’s asking why did God make bad germs – like viruses for example. Right now, we’re all dealing with that. We have this coronavirus and we wonder why would God have done this.
Here’s one way maybe, to look at it: Think of a hungry lion and he’s out there on the plains of Africa. Suddenly he sees this antelope. And if he could pray, he would probably say something like, ‘Thank you Lord for sending me this antelope, so I can eat.’
Now, the antelope sees the lion. And if he could pray, he might say, ‘O God, please save me from that lion.’
Now, here’s my point: Sometimes what we call good and evil, depends on your perspective. So say a germ or a virus that’s bad for us – it causes bad things for our bodies – but in itself, it’s not bad. And it might help other parts of God’s creation.
So, like the lion-antelope thing: From the antelope’s perspective, the lion is really bad. And he might say, ‘Why did God make this terrible thing?’ But the lion’s not bad in itself. And the lion thanks God for sending him the antelope.
So maybe think of it that way. That some things that we call bad, aren’t really bad in themselves. They might be bad for us. But God is interested in more than just us. He’s interested in his whole creation.
Credit: ‘Word on Fire’ Kids Q&A with Bishop Barron
