A Good Man Is Hard To Find

A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Text: Jeremiah 5:1

Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

My brothers and sisters, the subject for today, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” has become the buzz phrase and national anthem of women all over the land. It does not matter whether the woman is black, white, or Hispanic. It does not matter whether the woman is a high school drop out, has a high school diploma, or a doctorate degree from Harvard University. It does not matter whether the woman is on a government assistance program or whether she is financially independent. It does not matter if the woman is cultured and radiating with pure sophistication, or whether she’s a gangsta chick with no class at all. You will hear women all across the land declare the same thing, time and time again, that “a good man is hard to find.” Have I got a witness?

Most of the time when I’ve heard this complaint from women, I used to take it as a form of male-bashing that is common among women, especially those who have been hurt by men – whether it was by a husband, a boyfriend, or a lover; or by a so-called father who didn’t live up to the expectations that every little girl has of a daddy. I truly believed that all of the good man is hard to find stuff was over-exaggerated and that most women were just looking in all the wrong places.

You see, you can’t expect to find a good man hanging out on the street corners late at night in the midst of illegal activities. You can’t assume that you’ll find a good man at the club on a Saturday night, while you’re shaking your laffy taffy…. doing the rump shaker, and getting your groove on. Most of the good men are already asleep, getting ready for church the next morning. You can’t expect to find a good man if you’re sitting in your girlfriend’s living room night after night talking about how bad men are. You can’t expect to find a good man on your job or in somebody else’s house when you know that all of the men there are already married. You can’t even expect to find a good man in the church when all you’re looking for is a man that goes to church and not a man that’s saved by grace and filled with the Holy Ghost. So I thought that women were looking in all of the wrong places.

But after reading the results of a recent study conducted by scholars from Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and other prestigious universities, what I found is that women, especially black women may not be too far from the truth.

The fact of the matter is that a “good” man has become a rare commodity in today’s society. Men we once considered “good” have shattered what were once our commonplace thoughts of them. We no longer consider preachers good men collectively, because too many preachers have brought shame to the ministry. Too many men of God have proven their godlessness by doing ungodly things while holding a godly title.

The little bit of trust and faith that was left in our Presidents and those whom we support politically has fallen by the wayside. Some have morally corrupted their office by sleeping with their interns. Others have lied to the nation, claiming the existence of something that has never been found, and placing the lives of American men and women in harm’s way. I don’t have to say any names; you all know what I’m talking about and can fill in the blanks. I’m just saying what I’m saying.

Even our law enforcement has had their share of corruption scandals, their episodes of authority abuse, and even those rare cases of innocents being shot and killed without any apparent cause.

And you don’t have to go out of town to find this kind of stuff going on, you can look all around us in Columbus and Phenix City and Opelika and Smiths Station and even in Motts, Alabama.

If we can’t find good men in the pulpit of our churches; if we can’t find good men in the positions of leadership in our governments; if we can’t find good men in the agencies that are designed to protect us, then where can we find a good man?

Maybe the women weren’t completely wrong, because the recent report revealed the following:

· The share of young black men without jobs has climbed relentlessly, despite a national economic peak in the late 1990’s. In other words the economy did well. Jobs were plentiful. But black men were not a part of that economic boom.