I Believe….

We often open a conversation with these two words.  They often reflect just a point of view. Such as…”I believe we will have more tornados this year.”  We don’t need any scientific data or education to make this assertion.  Just a thought.  We don’t even have to desire it coming to fruition.  We also say…”I believe” when in our church settings.  It is comfortable to make this type of declaration in an environment comprised of similar minded people.  You say this because you want the other person to actually believe you “believe”!  The challenge here is that both opening statements are the same, but one is more dangerous than the other. The one is a viewpoint.  Everyone has an assortment of views or opinions.  They change constantly. The other should reflect your core belief system!  Why is this so important?  Our beliefs create our world.  Our relationships, social interactions, and many of our choices are influenced by our beliefs. 

What Do I Believe?

When I truly believe something, it propels me forward.  It doesn’t matter what my belief is, it will always cause me to act.  If I truly believe that stepping on cracks on the sidewalk will cause bad luck, I will avoid them at all costs regardless of how silly I might look!  It is difficult to hide our true beliefs because they always show up in our actions. Now, we can hide our true beliefs for a short time and in some environments, but rest assured they will rise to the surface.  We feel betrayed when someone we come to care for, suddenly reveals themselves differently than we thought them to be!  We accepted their “I believe” statement based upon the definition we held not the one held by the individual.  

How Does My Belief System Cause Me To Act?

If your belief system is based upon all people being reflections of God, you would measure each interaction based upon your beliefs about God.  God is trustworthy, honest, forthright, loving, kind, considerate, etc.  This means that every person you meet would start off based upon this definition.  If on the other had your definition of God is one of being vengeful, controlling, erratic, each person you meet might cause you to be leery of making many interactions.  Jesus said, “be it unto you as you believe!” So the burden is on each of us to determine our system of belief and make changes.

How Do I Know My Belief System And How Do I Change It?

It has been said…”we don’t know ourselves until life hits us in the face!”  We pick up most of our beliefs from our parents, our experiences in that environment, and the people we interact with as we mature.  We make decisions that create our beliefs.  Over time, we forget the decisions we have made, but we continue to operate based upon the decisions that we made 30 years earlier.  Just like an operating system in our computers, it determines the outcome or output, regardless to what we input.  The output will not change until we change the operating system.  In order to see change, we must first become aware.  “Man’s greatest strength is his spiritual awareness. Conversely, his greatest weakness is his spiritual ignorance!” What we believe about life and the world around us reveals itself when we face adversity! When we go out to our car and we see a flat tire.  What is the first thought you entertain?  Is it…”if I didn’t have bad luck I wouldn’t have any luck at all!” Or…”good thing this happened before I got on the freeway!”  Your beliefs determine the quality of life you experience.  So if you desire a better life, monitor your thoughts and your feelings.  Remember this formula:  Thoughts+Imagination X Emotions(Beliefs)= Results