If God exists then why there is so much poverty on Earth?
The first and foremost key to getting right answers lies is asking right questions. The question If God exists why there is so much poverty is a wrong question and secondly it is not a spiritual question, the right question should be “What causes prosperity?”
Lee Kuan Yew in his detailed work “From Third World to First – the Singapore Story” mentions right at the beginning of the book that the starting state as given by nature is not prosperity or development, rather it is raw and undeveloped. It is the right economics and policies that create prosperity. Prof Julian Simon calls this human potential as the “The Ultimate Resource” that can bring about progress and prosperity.
The divine gives freedom and liberty to make right choices and make best use of the human potential and Earth’s bounties. Many cultures and countries have developed into well-developed regions. However, all of it can slip back if the policies that brought success are ignored in the future.
Human brain and human potential is the gift of the divine and how we use that gift brings varied results. A knife can be used to commit a murder or do a surgery and same applies with our lives. Most of us live life in an automated stupor and thus are always victims to circumstances. We keep repeating our pattern of life and exhaust our energies outwardly indulging with our senses. Our pattern of life brings suffering and suffering is a very different phenomenon compared to poverty. While eliminating poverty is a question of economics but eliminating suffering is a question of spirituality.