Is everyone a little bit godly?

My interpretations of terms such as "holy", "godly" and "righteous" have changed dramatically over the years as I grow as a person. The term "godly" has come to be known as "devout" and "churchgoing" which is unfortunate because I really don't think that is the biblical meaning of it. I am no theologian or biblical scholar, but I am a girl who's spent the better part of 20 years journeying through a God-focused existence. And from the way I see it, "godly" means to have the characteristics of God. The representation of that in the New Covenant world is Jesus. He had a killer personality. He was a political rebel and a hippy. He spent the vast majority of his time with people that the general society completely disregarded and broke A LOT of the religious rules of the time. He changed the focus from what the rules said to what the meaning behind the rules really was. 

Check out the sweet flow on the guy

Take murder for example. Clearly outlined in the Old Testament as a no-no. But when Jesus comes, he says no, it's not about the rules anymore, folks. Hatred is evil. Hatred is a no-no. And you can't hate someone and hurt them in any manner of ways up until the point of murder and have that be ok. Thou shall not murder doesn't mean thou shall not murder. It means thou shall not hate. Same with adultery. Its not like adultery is some special, set-apart issue that has it's own significance from anything else. Really, its thou shall not lust. Lust is bad. Lust is the issue. Jesus, and Paul too, like to get to the root of the issue. 

I've talked before about how I think God cares about our hearts more than our actions, and this is just more of that. If you don't commit adultery (which, as an unmarried woman, I couldn't even if I wanted to) it's not like that principle doesn't apply to you. Because the actual act of adultery isn't the point! It's what's going on behind it. The Lust. Lust is icky. Lust is dishonouring to another human being. Lust is seeing a person as an object for pleasure as opposed to a human being worthy of love and respect. 

You see the difference between rule-following and godly living? In Galations chapter 3 and 4, Paul talks about rules 'n stuff. He says how the law was important and necessary in the days of the Old Testament, like how it's important to have rules with a child. These rules help to keep them from harm and to teach them basic principles. However, as children grow up into adults, the rules of their parents translate into moral knowledge that they carry with them. And Paul says that's where we're at with God now. We have the understanding, because of Jesus, to not live bound to the rules, but to connect with the meanings behind them and implement those meanings into our lives. 

So what is "godly" then? Right after Paul is done talking about how rules have changed, he outlines godly living: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law." 

Can godly characteristics be displayed by non-Christians? Yeah of course. There's really no debate about that. Anyone can display any number of those traits. Then, by that logic, can non-Christians be godly people? Oooooooooh I'm stepping into bad territory now. Conservative Christians everywhere are picking up their pitchforks. It's ok guys, you can believe whatever you want. It's possible I know nothing. But yeah, I think people with a godly character are found in many places, because God is found in many places. Everywhere, in fact. It's possible that God is equally as active in bars and in airports as he is in churches, no? 

If a person does not have an understanding of traditional Christianity but abounds in such traits, are they a godly person? Can a person be both a Christian and be ungodly?