What can be done to improve society? An MTV political correspondent had this unexpected but praiseworthy suggestion: "No matter how secular our culture becomes, it will remain drenched in the Bible. Since we will be haunted by the Bible even if we don't know it, doesn't it make sense to read it?"

Our culture is indeed "drenched in the Bible." Whether or not the majority of people realize it, the principles on which the United States was founded, and the values which still permeate our national life, were based on the Holy Scriptures.

Yet God's Word no longer occupies the commanding place it held in the past. Its ethics are sometimes still praised even though biblical morality is flagrantly violated. So I agree with the political correspondent's urging that people read the Bible.

We need to do more, however, than just read the Word of God. We need to believe the Bible and put its inspired teachings into practice. The psalmist reminded us that we are to walk in God's ways, to keep His precepts diligently, and to seek Him with our whole heart (Ps. 119:2-4).

If we obey the Bible, we'll build on our good foundation and improve our society—one person at a time.  — Vernon C. Grounds