The Myth of Overpopulation

2022-12-21

Is the world overpopulated? If you read according to some, you would think so. But it is not.

First, God created the world to be populated. “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:18). God made the world, and He made it for people. Being the creator of all things, knowing the beginning from the end, be assured He made it big enough for a maximum populace.

But the food supply cannot keep up, right? “The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen” (Isaiah 43:20). He can provide water in the desert, and where water is, food can grow. He provided for the Israelites 40 years in the desert with manna and quail. “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” (Matthew 6:31). He that fed 5,000 with a few fishes and loaves can provide.

Also, God intended for the earth to be filled with people. The first command mentioned in the Bible says, “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). After the flood, He commanded again, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Genesis 9:1). When they didn’t, “the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth” (Genesis 11:8). They were to spread out everywhere.

When I hear of news reports using scare tactics concerning this, I figure these people never left the bounds of cities like New York City or Los Angeles. Of course, those places are overpopulated. I grew up in a county of a major metropolitan area nearing a population of a million, and the major city was not even within those boundaries. I have since moved, and there are large expanses of nothing here. The two major cities nearby are in counties that are not even close in population to the one I grew up in. Over the summer I went through Kansas. Let’s just say we’re not running out of space anytime soon. But if we did, the Lord would provide what we need, because He is the one that issued the command to fill and inhabit the earth. He wouldn’t give the command if He could not accommodate it.