Beliefs and Behavior

I’ve been seeing a particular quote all over my social networks lately. Perhaps you’ve seen it, too:

Your beliefs don’t make you a better person. Your behavior does.

I could not agree less. That statement is absolutely, 100% wrong. Here’s why.

Beliefs trump behavior. Your behavior is a result of your beliefs. Trying to change your behavior without changing your beliefs is a losing battle. You might have success for a time – maybe even a long time – but it’s not true, lasting change. It’s a constant struggle, a never-ending war against yourself, and when you do eventually fall back into your old patterns, I can guarantee you this will be your response: “Next time, I’ll try harder.” You’ll try to fix your behavior with even more behavior.

When I say “beliefs,” I don’t just mean doctrine, although that is certainly a component. What you believe about yourself and about others (and yes, about God) determines your behavior, whether you’re consciously aware of the belief or not. When you believe a lie about yourself or about someone else, you act in accordance with it. When you’re able to identify that lie and replace it with truth, your behavior automatically falls into line. Beliefs trump behavior every time. It’s a higher level of change. Beliefs have authority over behavior – when you change a belief, your behavior has no choice; it must shift and line up with the new belief.

Look, when you like a person and then you find out that they’ve done something terrible behind your back, you treat them differently, right? You feel weird around them. You avoid them. You stop calling them on weekends, whatever. Your belief about them changed and your behavior followed suit. In this example, it was a negative shift, but I’ve only done that to illustrate my point.

Beliefs trump behavior. You don’t become a better person by trying harder. You can’t fix you with more you.

You fix you with Truth.

(Ben and I are taking some classes right now that are a deeper exploration of the things written about in this book, which I am also in the process of reading. My mind is completely blown. Basically, This. Changes. Everything.)