A certain preacher and an atheistic barber were walking through city slums.

The barber said, "This is why I can't believe in your God of love. If he was as kind as you say, he wouldn't permit all this poverty, disease, and squalor. He wouldn't allow these poor street people to get addicted. No, I cannot believe in a God who permits these things."

The minister was silent until they met a man who was especially unkempt. His hair was hanging down his neck, and he had a half-inch of stubble on his face.

The preacher said to his friend: "You can't be a good barber, or you wouldn't permit a man like this to continue living here without a haircut and a shave."

Indignant, the barber answered: "Why blame me for that man's condition? He has never come in my shop. If he had, I could've fixed him up and made him look like a gentleman!"

The preacher said, "Then don't blame God for allowing people to continue in their evil ways. He invites them to come and be saved."