Why, God, Why?

Why does God allow good people to suffer? Well, why not? He is not our genie that we can pull out of a bottle any time we want. We answer to Him, not the other way around. But still, why? Why doesn't He step in and save abused children, or free slaves, or stop wars? Or for that matter, heal diseases, raise the dead, fix the economy, win me the lotto, make my bed, feed me?
Why doesn't He do what we tell Him to?

Because He's God, and we're not.
I know, that doesn't answer the question. I will try to answer it here, to the best of my layman's ability. I think it has to do with dominion and free will. Free will says we can do what we want, even if others suffer for it. You, me, the other guy, we can do whatever we want. Rape, murder, lies, theft, negligence, etc. Dominion has to do with our responsibility over the earth.
Let me explain.

God gave Adam, and therefore all mankind, dominion over the earth. We rule. We rule over the land, the sea, and the sky and everything in it. Thus, we are responsible for it. As a race, we are collectively held accountable for what goes on here. When Adam sinned, he passed that propensity on to us. We now sin too. So, as collective sinners, we reap what we sow collectively. The world is cursed because of our sin.

We left the Garden long ago. "The wages of sin is death", and that goes for babies, children, and adults, good or bad. We can't look at child slavery and hang that in God's closet as if He did it. The evil offender did. And God lets him sin just as much as He lets you sin. And we can't blame God for the disaster that kills innocent people. We are to blame.

"But, we didn't cause the earthquake!" No, but our collective sin did. So we pay the price as a group. One man's sin is another man's death.
Look, God does help people all the time. Ever escape death by a millisecond? Or somebody gave you money just when you needed it? A kidnapping got foiled? Yes, He is there. But some people get it bad, don't they? Why? I don't know. Trust the He knows what He's doing. He is indeed wiser than us.

My youngest daughter died almost fifteen years ago. I could have raged against God and blamed Him for not saving her. But I didn't. I couldn't. I trust Him. It's the way of the cursed world. Good did come out of the bad, which He promises to do for those who love Him.
I'd love it if some angels showed up and killed human traffickers. Or if a plague melted them where they stood. But God left it up to us to find them and put them away. To punish the men who do it and their customers. It's our world and it's our responsibility to govern it. In the end, we will all be judged and get what's coming to us!

Sin is that hated word that's attributed to Inquisitors and Bible-thumpers. But it is what makes the world go around. This story has to play itself out in God's time, for God's reasons. I don't understand it much, but I trust Him. I would like to believe that we will have a better world, like in Star Trek, but my Bible tells me different. Do you really think we can make a better world? It's only getting worse as the population rises. More people, more sin! And more suffering to go along with it.

God could feed starving people. But so can we. He gave some people the means to alleviate others suffering. Is it His duty to make everyone do what they're supposed to? I don't think so. Remember, we were given dominion here, and we are to exercise it wisely. Somebody go feed that kid!

So I urge you all, to trust God today and believe He is good, despite what you see. That, my friends, is called faith. And faith is what pleases God.