Where Have the Godly Gone?

1 Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. 2 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. 3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, 4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?” 5 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.” 6 The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. 7 You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever. 8 On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man. ( Psalm12 ESV)

In a 150-day study of Psalms, I read Psalm 12 today, realizing that, outside David’s reasons for writing Psalms 12, on the face of the words, any one of us could have written this psalm based on what we see every day in society. The first line of Psalm 12 is a snapshot of today. Where have the godly gone? Have they not vanished among our children? Looking at our schools and higher places of learning, God is absent. This is not a distant problem but a pressing issue that demands our attention.

The godless of today are like the godless in the time of David. We live among liars, two-faced people who will modify who they are to fit who they are engaging at that moment. Jesus told us, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”(Luke 6:45) Words do not make a person evil, it is their heart that makes them evil, and their evilness is revealed in their words.

Why would it be easier to tell a lie than the truth? If you tell the truth, while it may be painful for us or someone else, you are beyond reproach. Yet we all lie. We omit to avoid or cause embarrassment. We avoid the truth so that we will not face reprisals. We must remember that as Christians, we are not reborn with a spirit of fear but a Spirit of Holiness. The truth, however complicated, is a powerful force that brings strength and righteousness.

We fail to tell the truth because God’s words convict us and others. As David reminds us, the Word of the Lord is pure; it is purer than the purest gold. God keeps us by His words. His words remind us, motivate us, and keep us on the narrow path, and David knew this.

Evil is all around us. The prince of the power of the air is in control of this world, and his reign is growing, yet God keeps His children. He guards, protects, and shields them from the world's evil.

So, the obvious question for those who do not know Christ is how? How do I become “His.” How do I become his because I am tired of all of this evil in the world? A Christian knows the answer, which is contained in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christians, we are not just bystanders but crucial participants in the ministry of reconciliation; that is why we spread the gospel as part of the great commission. We help those who do not know God reconcile with Him. We use the Word of God, purer than gold, to present the gospel.

For reconciliation to occur in any instance of separation, both parties must be willing to reconcile. We, through the ministry of reconciliation, make it known to sinners that they can be reconciled to God and that forgiveness is available. By presenting the gospel, we open the door for God, who has already elected his children, to dispense salvation on his chosen.

This is our only purpose and why we exist in God’s creation. Yes, we worship, but our worship is noticeably lacking and limited by our sinful nature. Yes, we serve the fruit of our redemption in our works of salvation, but the main reason for our existence is to grow disciples for the Lord and to spread the gospel.

Do you lie? Do you lie to avoid confrontation or to get along with others? Ask yourself why a lie is better than the truth. If you are a Christian, you know lying is a sin. You should remember you were born again in the Spirit of Truth.  

Fulfill your true vocation, spread the Gospel of Jesus, the truth, the good news.

Grace and Peace!