Inequality​—Did God Intend It?

The answer in a single word is no. Let us see why.

GOD intended that all humans have equal opportunities to enjoy life and happiness. Of man’s creation, we read: “God went on to say: ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and the domestic animals and all the earth and every moving animal that is moving upon the earth.’” Upon completion of earthly creation, “God saw everything he had made and, look! it was very good.”​—Genesis 1:26, 31.

Can God pronounce today’s sad state of inequality “very good”? Hardly, for “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) It is said of him that he “treats none with partiality” and that “perfect is his activity, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice; righteous and upright is he.” (Deuteronomy 10:17; 32:4; compare Job 34:19.) And the apostle Peter concluded: “For a certainty I perceive that God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.”​—Acts 10:34, 35.

Since God is loving, impartial, just, upright, and righteous, how could he have created humans with inherent inequality as regards their right to enjoy happiness? To allow discrimination among people and to place them in a system of inequality would be in direct contradiction to his personality. He intended that they all be “born free and equal in dignity and rights.” Yet, today things are obviously not that way. Why not?

The Root of Inequality

That God created humans to be equal does not mean that he intended for all of them to be equal in every respect. They could differ in talents, interests, and personality. They could also differ in station or in degree of authority. For example, man and woman are not equal in all respects, but God created the woman “as a complement” of the man. (Genesis 2:18) Parents and children obviously differ in authority. Despite these differences, however, all​—men, women, and children—​were to enjoy as a God-given right equal opportunities to satisfy the basic requirements for happiness. They were all to enjoy equal dignity and standing before God.

Similarly, God’s spirit sons, created prior to humans, were given different assignments and responsibilities. (Genesis 3:24; 16:7-11; Isaiah 6:6; Jude 9) Nonetheless, within the boundaries of what they had been given, all were able to enjoy the divine provisions for life and happiness to an equal degree. They thus reflected God’s impartiality in a marvelous way.

Sad to say, one spirit creature was not content with God’s impartial arrangement. He wanted more than what God had given him, yearning for a higher, more elevated, position. By nurturing this wrong desire, he set himself up in rivalry to Jehovah, who as Creator rightfully holds a position of overall supremacy. This rebellious spirit son of God later induced humans to demand of God more than what He had given them. (Genesis 3:1-6; compare Isaiah 14:12-14.) Thus, Jehovah’s provision for humans to enjoy life and happiness appeared to have been thrown out of balance. This spirit rebel, identified at Revelation 20:2 as “the Devil and Satan,” became the evil instigator of human inequality.

Will Things Ever Change?

The answer in a single word is yes!

But who can bring about the desired changes? Human leaders, some no doubt in all sincerity, have struggled for centuries to do so. Their success has been limited, leading many people to conclude that it is unrealistic to expect the problem of human inequality ever to be solved. God’s view, however, is recorded at Isaiah 55:10, 11: “Just as the pouring rain descends, and the snow, from the heavens and does not return to that place, unless it actually saturates the earth and makes it produce and sprout, and seed is actually given to the sower and bread to the eater, so my word that goes forth from my mouth will prove to be. It will not return to me without results, but it will certainly do that in which I have delighted, and it will have certain success in that for which I have sent it.”

How comforting to know that Jehovah God has gone on record that he will fulfill his original purpose to provide all humans with equal opportunities for life and happiness! As a God of truth, he has obligated himself to fulfill what he has promised. Happily, he has both the will and the power to do so. How will he accomplish this?

The answer lies in the Kingdom for which Jesus Christ taught all his followers to pray: “Our Father in the heavens, . . . Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matthew 6:9, 10) Yes, God’s Kingdom is the means that Jehovah will use to “crush and put an end to all these kingdoms [now in existence], and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”​—Daniel 2:44.

Under the rule of the heavenly Kingdom, a new human society will emerge. In this regard, the apostle John wrote in the last book of the Bible, Revelation: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away.” (Revelation 21:1) Gone will be all the ugly faces of inequality​—poverty, sickness, ignorance, discrimination, and other human miseries.a

For more than a century, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been directing people’s attention to that Kingdom. (Matthew 24:14) By means of the printed page and by personal assistance, they have exerted themselves in helping people to gain a knowledge of God’s purpose as recorded in the Bible. Their worldwide educational work, however, not only has given people the hope of living in equality and happiness in the future but has also paid dividends right now in curbing the scourge of inequality. Let us see how.

[Footnote]

[Blurb on page 5]

God intended that all humans have equal opportunities for life and happiness