Is there not one among them?

An ancient psalmist wrote:

"Help me LORD, for there is no godly one left;

the faithful have vanished from among us.

Everyone speaks falsely with his neighbor;

with a smooth tongue they speak from a double heart.


O LORD, watch over us

and save us from this generation for ever.

The wicked prowl on every side,

and that which is worthless is highly prized by everyone."


Sounds as if this could be a post in the comments section of a modern blog.

If it sounds familiar, if it seems that the psalmist was a prophet, there is good reason for it. People haven't really changed, as a whole, and it doesn't seem like they will anytime soon. Some will say this is due to the battle waging between the cosmic forces, good waiting patiently to triumph over evil when some future cataclysmic event happens. Some see it as evidence that people are simply idiots, and must be herded and overseen by the wise who get their wisdom from...I'm not certain.

Highly prizing what is worthless seems to be the national pastime in our culture, how else does one explain American Idol, The Bachelor and (fill in the blank with any of thousands of modern necessities). I'm not an entertainment basher, but the time, money and energy invested in such silliness is amazing. Obviously, people want these things. Dittos with football, basketball, etc. , all except baseball, which is, of course, necessary. And that is the point, we all have something.

Some will also say that it is up to us to change this, that it is our duty to seek out others and convert them to our way of thinking, yes, if everyone would accept (fill in another blank), or if Jesus would simply come on back, or if we could just eliminate those cretins who are ruining everything- then we would be OK. We would have peace. Right. The other side of the coin is that if all the good people capitulate to the bad people out of love and kindness by extending their neck to the enemy's chopping block while telling them about peace on earth, only the bad would prevail.

Is there no answer to this evil other than total annihilation of creation?

Although we live in an age where truth holds little value (has it ever?), where sound bites set social and political policy, where baseless accusations are thrown out just to obfuscate the real evil lurking around the corner, we are not treading new ground. As humanity goes, we've seen it all before and we will see it all again. The Utopians have sought ways to cure these problems, but even they always get stuck on the question of rules and who imposes them.

It is my humble and wacky opinion that things are just the way God intended them to be, and God never intended for anything to be easy, clear, or risk free. I can only know good if I have experienced bad, I can only know peace if I have also known turmoil. I can only know myself I've had my very being called into question. In those times, it is God who waits at the bottom of the pit. It is God who says, try again, this time with courage, this time with a little more faith.

I will never convert the terrorist in Afghanistan, but I can tolerate my neighbor. I can accept that no one else thinks exactly as I do, and that with enough conversation, enough listening and enough love (where God catches me in that pit), we can be brothers, at least for a time. It has to begin somewhere. Christianity began at the foot of the cross. The same place we all begin.