Short story: Alan confronts the problem of good and evil, and comes up with an explanation of sorts.

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Alan was walking home from the Evannwood station, about 4 pm, one afternoon. He went past a corner shop where some kids were congregating around an ice-cream parlour there. One kid came up to Alan, and he said hello to him, but then another kid had snuck up behind him and reached into Alan's jeans pocket, and stole his wallet from him. Then this kid threw the wallet to another boy, in front of him, who run off with it then. Alan thought about grabbing the first boy by the throat, and throttling him, and telling the others that he will strangle him unless the other boy gives him back his wallet again. "Give it back or else," he would tell them. But Alan didn't do this, even though he was annoyed, and he really wanted to do just that. No, Alan knew that if he even just touched even just one of these minors, he would be the one charged with assaulting them. Another reason was that Alan always carried two wallets with him, just in case something like this might happen to him. (Alan kept his second wallet in an inside pocket in his jacket, close to his chest). The old wallet in his jeans pocket had only contained just the one $5 note, and a few coins. There was also an old bank keycard for a bank account that Alan had closed 10 years ago. So, Alan was really not too worried about his loss. He hurried off home before the boys could catch up to him again, peeved by the small amount that they had gotten. Maybe, they might take his expensive Swiss watch next time. When Alan got home though, this little incident got him to thinking. Why does God allow both good and bad people to live together in the same world? Why even God had allowed both good and evil even to exist both together, even within the original garden of Eden, which was supposedly a paradise. The evil one existed there too in the role of a serpent. As well as that, God had planted there the tree of Knowledge, of which if anyone who ate of its fruit, they would know the difference between good and evil. Why would God plant this alluring temptation there, and then tell them not to eat of it? So this temptation and alluring attraction was another evil in a way. There was then at least two evil influencing agents, even in a seeming paradise. God allows both the good and the bad to exist under himself, as he gives freedom of choice to each part of his creation. God himself remains totally good at all times though, and by sticking to him, we can live from the good only too, and avoid all temptation, put there, not by God, but by the choice of various parts of his creation, making the choice to live separate from God in their, or another's way, rather than only in God's loving way. Alan was satisfied with his thinking. For after all, if we we not given free choice, we would be only just mere puppets of God. Now, we are not puppets, but can freely choose to follow God, and to live in his way, performing his will, by making our own choice to do so, out of our love for him, and which God obviously seems to want of us to do. Photo credit: The photo used here was freely sourced from the free media site: pixabay.com Why does God allow both good and evil to coexist together, as bedfellows, in his world?