Heart, Soul, and Mind

When the Pharisees were trying to set a trap for Jesus, they asked Him this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” (Matthew 22:36 NLT).

Jesus told them, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment” (verses 37–38 NLT).

In our culture when we speak of the heart, we’re generally referring to our emotions. For instance, we might say, “My mind is telling me one thing, but my heart is telling me another.”

So, what did Jesus mean when He said, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind”?

Is this saying that we should merely do this from our emotions and disengage our intellect? No. In the original language, the heart refers to the core of a person’s being. The soul refers to what we would call emotion. And the mind refers to intellectual vigor and determination.

Therefore, our love for the Lord should be intelligent, feeling, and willing. Notice that God wants all three.

However, some may love the Lord with all their minds but not with all their souls. They believe certain things to be true, but they are not emotionally engaged. There are others who love God with all their souls but not all their minds. They relate to God emotionally, but they don’t fill their minds with God’s Word.

The Bible calls for balance. It’s telling us to love God with every fiber of our beings. We love Him with our intellectual ability, our emotional passion, and our strength. We should love God with everything we have.

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