The question of the day asks what I would change about modern society. It’s easy to point to laws, political divides, or technological problems. But those are often just symptoms of a deeper issue. If I could truly change one thing, it wouldn’t be a policy enacted by a government, but a priority chosen in the human heart.
The single most important change I wish for our society is for more people to pursue a true, transformative relationship with God.
Too often, people approach faith on their own terms. They want the comfort and community it can offer without the submission and transformation it requires. They treat it like a feature to add to their life, rather than the foundation upon which to build it. But the truth I’ve come to know is that we are only truly happy and at peace when we’re doing things on God’s terms. He made us and everything else, so we fit into His big picture best when we’re doing things His way.
You can see the effects of a self-centered approach everywhere, but as someone who has spent years in and around the news business, it’s starkly clear in how we consume information. People used to consume more news because they had to. They’d sift through the newspaper or watch the evening news and encounter a broad range of topics—national, international, local, sports, and even a laugh from the comics. Now, most people go to a site or two to get exactly what they’re looking for, if they go anywhere at all. The result is a highly uninformed and biased society that is becoming increasingly divided. We need people to not just entrench their existing biases, but to broaden their horizons so they can make choices based on better and more reliable information. This retreat into informational echo chambers is a symptom of a heart that wants to be validated, not challenged.
But if that’s a symptom, what’s the cure? What would happen if more people reoriented their lives around a genuine faith? The ripple effect would be immense, and it starts in the home.
If people had a deeper faith, they would naturally care more about the world He created and the people in it. They’d put their families forward in their priorities. They would be more likely to raise their children based on the timeless wisdom of the Bible and less on something they found on TikTok or Instagram. When your foundation is secure, you pay more attention to what’s going on around you, and that leads to holding society’s institutions—and, just as importantly, yourself—more accountable.
As a father and a grandfather, this isn’t an abstract idea. It’s the world I hope my daughter Lizzi and my grandson Sully will inherit. A world where character is valued over clicks, and where families are grounded in something more permanent than the passing fads of culture.
So, what would I change? I’d change the starting point. Before we can fix our politics or our media, we must re-examine our priorities. The most profound and lasting change for modern society will always begin with a change of the human heart.
Copyright © 2025 Doug DeBolt.
