When a lawyer saddled up next to Jesus and asked Him what the greatest commandment in the Law was, Jesus responded with Deuteronomy 6:5: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37).
That’s not technically what’s in Deuteronomy 6:5, though. Jesus adds the word “mind” and leaves out “might.” Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27 include both though, so the meaning is made clear when you look at it in totality.
Why does Jesus add “mind”? Because a Hebrew audience would’ve understood “mind” as involved with the word “heart,” but a Greek-speaking audience would’ve missed it. Jesus added “mind” to make sure the original meaning of Deuteronomy 6:5 stayed intact.
So, here is where we see God’s greatest commandment of His own Law. If you want to highlight one specific commandment at the expense of everything else, you need to focus in on loving God with every single part of your being.
It’s actually surprising to note just how wide this verse actually is. “Heart” and “soul” involve the entirety of your thoughts and inclinations. Your desires are subject to Him, as are your feelings.
The “mind and “might” comprise the other side of the coin. You are not just to “feel” and “think” a certain way towards Him, but your actions—to the uttermost—reflect that same desire.
To the Jewish person, actions and emotions were intimately connected; it’s only in our society that we try to separate them. To feel a certain way was to act a certain way, so it would’ve been impossible to “love God” and yet not “keep His commandments.” One naturally caused the other.
The only other time you see this exact phrase used in the Old Testament is in the example of 2 Kings 23:25, where King Josiah turned to the Lord “with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might.” His reforms reshaped the Kingdom of Judah, albeit just a little too late to assuage God’s justice.
Today, a lot of people say they love God, yet their actions show something entirely different. Unrepentant sin is a part of their lives, and instead of fixing it, they brag about it instead.
That’s not a person that loves God. As much as they (or we) want to convince ourselves otherwise, a life not lived for Him (might and mind) is not a life that loves Him (soul and heart).
If you claim to love God, you have to do it with every part of your being.
Otherwise, you’re just lying to yourself.