There are some “things” that are not things at all. Darkness is not some “thing,” but rather the absence of light. It’s the same with cold, (the absence of heat), hunger (the absence of food), ignorance (the absence of knowledge), and chaos (the absence of order). In the strictest sense, you can’t honestly speak of these concepts as “things” because they are each understood only by removing something which actually exists, (light, heat, food, knowledge, and order).
As far as I’m concerned, this fully answers the question of why God “created” evil. He did no such thing. God created what exists, not what doesn’t! Every thing he created was good, including Lucifer and free choice. But when Lucifer and his angels freely turned away from God and led creation into the same rebellion, humanity divorced itself from the Good, and chose to live with our backs to God, complaining with darkened minds that He had no business creating evil in the first place. We are like runaways whining about the distress of being orphans!
E. Stanley Jones points out that, “It’s either the Kingdom or Chaos.” To reject the Kingdom is to embrace disorder and confusion. Like it or not, the Creator has a meticulous plan for the way His universe will operate: Matter obeys certain laws, electricity honors other rules, as do biology, economics, agriculture, and the human heart. We marvel at natural laws and honor the way they work in the real world, yet insist on making up our own way when it comes to life and human endeavor.
The Messiah says, “There is a way home; a way to put this Humpty-Dumpty world together again.” And then He steps into Human flesh and declares, “I am It! I AM the way! I am what man was always intended to be. Follow me and lets turn this mess around again.” The world has lost it’s way. Our failure to choose the Way is a choice to remain lost. It’s a choice between something or “no-thing”, the Kingdom or chaos. For me, that’s a no-brainer.