Here is an excerpt from Rick Warren’s blog.
How I think determines HOW I ACT.
“For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” (Prov. 23:7, NAS)
Beliefs determine behavior. Thoughts result in actions.
If you were sitting in front of me right now and I were to tell you that I had taped a hundred-dollar bill under your chair, you would almost certainly check the bottom of your chair. At least, if you believed me you would.
Let me stretch this illustration a little. We live in a world that tells us, “Here’s where to find the hundred-dollar bills.” So we spend our lives struggling to find fulfillment in our job or satisfaction in our vacations, and all we come up with is old bubble gum! The amazing thing is we often keep going back to the bottom of that chair again and again. You’d think we’d have learned the first time, but our beliefs keep determining our actions.
You cannot change the way you act without changing the way you believe. God’s truth changes the way we act. It will change the way you parent. It will change the way you work, the way you handle your business. It will change the way you think about the future and the past. It will change you!