Turnusrufus asked Rabbi Akiva: "If your G-d loves the poor, why doesn't He feed them?" Said Rabbi Akiva to him: "I'll give you an analogy: A king got angry on his child and locked him away in a dungeon, and commanded that he not be given to eat or to drink; and a person fed the king's child. When the king hears of this, does he not reward that person...?"