YOU ARE WHAT YOU BELIEVE
What you believe directly impacts your actions. For example: if you believe God is unknowable or angry, you live in fear, always trying to please an unpredictable deity. What we believe also determines who we are. Proverbs 23:7 says: “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Our actions show what we think and believe to be true.
Actions start in the mind as a thought. The Bible uses the word “heart” to refer to the part in us where decisions are made. Jesus said in Luke 6:45 “The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.”
This is one reason God gave us His Word, the Bible. As we know God’s truth and yield to the Holy Spirit, our actions will follow and be good. When we don’t know His truth and believe worldly lies, our actions will be evil. We need to think like Christ, so we can act like Christ. We need to know what Jesus thought and believed. We find His beliefs in His Word through His Spirit.
We all see the world through the lens of our beliefs, values and experiences. This is called our “world view.” Some people wear glasses to help them see more clearly. Without the glasses everything looks distorted and they can get hurt or perceive objects incorrectly. If they wear someone else’s’ glasses, their vision is still distorted. The Bible shows us how to accurately view life around us. If we look at life through the Bible’s lens, we see a divine perspective. Each person has a set of beliefs about who God is and how what determines right and wrong. Beliefs frame our meaning and purpose in life. Why am I alive? How am I to live this life? What happens after this life?
How you answer these questions will form how you view everything else in life. Those views and beliefs are then reflected in your actions and responses to life. If you are struggling to respond like Jesus, don’t just “try harder.” Instead, immerse yourself in His Word -read it, learn it, and memorize it. As God renews your mind (Romans 12:1-2) you will respond more like Him. Remember, you are what you believe. (December 2, 2019 Doylestown, PA)
Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
When God looks into your mind, what thoughts does He find? He does know your thoughts (Psalm 139:1-3). Are your thoughts like Jesus’ thoughts, or are they like those of unbeliever around you? Ask God to renew your mind (Romans 12:1-2) and give you the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:14-16; Philippians 2:5).