To Believe Means To Love

The word 'believe' comes from the Old Germanic word "galaubon", which means "to hold something in high esteem, to trust in something, to have care, and to love". So to really believe in something means to love it, to have that quality of care and deliberation that is necessary to make sure something valuable is protected and cherished in this world of chaos.

I think this is a different way of looking at belief than what society seems to communicate to us. Society seems to associate belief with arrogance and childishness. People who believe in God, or who believe in something, anything, are often times ridiculed in our society, ridiculed by materialists who think that all belief is childish imagination.

But if we understand the true meaning of believing, which is loving, then "to believe" takes on a whole other meaning. To believe in God no longer means imagining an old man with a white beard. To believe in ourselves no longer entails arrogance or selfish pride.

Believing simply means that we are seeking an understanding, by establishing proper care, of that which we cherish. This is what believing really means. So in this context to believe in yourself is not an act of arrogance, it is an act of humility and intelligence. Believing is then the foundation for building true value within yourself and thus the society in which you live.