Belief

Do you believe in someone or something?


What does it mean to believe?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines belief as “a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in someone or something.” All people have beliefs in one way or another. Some beliefs are basic, you believe that if you drop something it will fall because the forces of gravity will pull it toward the ground. Some are more emotional; a child may believe that their parent wants the best for them and knows more than them, so will believe anything their parent tells them. Some people believe in the academic process, they look to references and peer-reviewed studies for truth, while others believe less in these sources and instead trust more heavily in intuition and tradition for truth. Whatever that belief and trust is placed in, people all have different ideas of what is and is not true.


Why is belief important?

People’s beliefs provide context to how they understand the world and how they make decisions. Your beliefs guide how you look at new knowledge, who you ask for help, what you consider to be of highest priority, and what you consider unimportant. It follows then, that you choose what you do and how you live will be based around what you believe to be true and put trust in.

In addition, people have large overarching beliefs, like belief in a god or higher power. Even someone who believes in atheistic naturalism has a fundamental belief in rationality, that the natural world is governed by and follows rules and logic that people can study and understand. People believe in something that is greater than other things in their world; order, justice, the law, love, overall goodness in creation, the value of human life, equality, and other values. Often these ideas are encompassed within the person of a divine entity.

Again a belief like this changes the way that a person lives. A person will make decisions based on what they believe is good, right, and true. From small everyday moments to large overarching decisions, what you believe is the truth above other things will dictate what you decide.

There is of course, a difference between saying that you believe in something and practicing that belief. If a person says that they believe in the rule of law as the most important thing, but in practice evade honesty with authorities while demanding other people are held accountable, it is likely that the true belief that is governing their actions is something else entirely. Likewise if someone says that they value spending time with family over career advancement, but in practice they cancel family commitments in favor of work commitments, the belief that they are building their decisions is not in quality time with family.


What does it mean to believe in Jesus?

Christian believe in the person of Jesus Christ, the revelation of God to humanity who we know through the witness of the scriptures and through the Holy Spirit. Another document found in the Christian Soul Wellness Index is titled Belief Systems, and details many of the most foundational things the Christians believe about Jesus and what it means to be the people of God. 

We believe that Jesus is One with the Father God, from eternity to eternity, that Jesus came to live as a human among us, we believe that Jesus was crucified and resurrected, and through that reconciles us to God and eternal life, despite our sins and iniquities. We believe that Jesus calls us into a partnership with him, to experience the perfect love of God, to give that love to other people in our lives, and for our actions to reflect the gift of grace that we have received.

Just like with any belief, you know that you truly believe something when it is reflected in the way that you make decisions and evaluate what is good and what is right. Belief in Jesus is reflected by making decisions that are based in the truth that Jesus taught. I can’t tell you what decisions to make in light of your belief in Jesus, but I can encourage you to examine the decisions that you make yourself with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Look at the teachings of Christ, his instructions to love and honor God and to love and honor other people in everything that we do, and ask yourself if your decisions reflect that. We are human, and will continue to fall short in this, but by the grace of God we are called to keep striving to live up to the name of God that we have been blessed to carry as Christians.


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