Behavior > Belief

NPR has resurrected a series called "This I Believe." It was originally done by Edward R. Murrow in the 1950's.

Anyway, it's really cool, and I think it is perfect for bloggers. It asks for people to submit their belief statement to NPR in 500 words or less. I plan to work on one and hope that my readers (I can name all three: my Mom, my mother-in-law, the Central Intelligence Agency) will do the same.

In the first installment, they played a clip from a high school student in the 1950's who had an amazingly articulate belief statement centered on her faith and its prescriptions. They interviewed the same woman today (she's a professor at an Ivy League university), and she talked about her current beliefs. She said something wonderful. She said (paraphrasing) "I've come to believe that behavior is more important than beliefs."

I totally agree. Totally.

For example, a Christian (belief) President can take actions (behavior) that lead to thousands of deaths. In so doing, that President can speak volumes with his behavior - in fact, his actions can articulate in ways that his (few) words will not allow. By his behavior, we can know something about what this President truly believes.

Short blog today - write your belief statement. I'll post mine when it is done.

Be well.