Would you burn you belt?

True story:

I have the privilege of having a friend that has spent many years studying in Okinawa under a true Grand Master. My friend would always wear a plain black belt when he practiced. Those of us that trained with him from time to time knew that our friend held a very high rank. Yet he always wore the plain black belt. Then one day he came in wearing a masters belt of red and white panels. We asked why the change. My friend told me that his Instructor had told him to start wearing the masters belt. This went on for a while. Then my friend started coming in with the plain black belt again. After a few weeks I asked him why he changed back to the plain belt. He replied that the masters belt was starting to affect his training. He went on to say that he could not allow the belt to interfere with his training. Then he mentioned that he had burned the belt, so it would not be a temptation to him. At first I was shocked, It seemed almost dis-respectful of him to burn his belt. After thinking about it for a time, I began to realize what he was really saying. Although it is proper to respect a masters belt, it is not what is important. The martial artists worth stands on what he is capable of, not on what belt he wears. To wear a belt that one does not honor is dis-respectful to what the belt stands for. That day I decided that if my belt ever interfered with my training or my image of myself, I too would no longer wear it.