"Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.’"
— Matthew 22:37
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."
— Deuteronomy 6:5
Today, lets talk about the greatest commandment of our Christian life and understand it from Gods perspective. We have quoted this commandment from two sources in the Bible. Deuteronomy and Matthew.
When you compare the original Hebrew Shema in Deuteronomy 6:5 with Jesus’ statement in Matthew 22:37, a striking detail emerges: Jesus added the word "mind" (dianoia).
The big question is: Why did He do that? The answer is deeper than you think.
In the ancient Hebrew world, the word for heart—levav (לֵבָב) or lev (לֵב)—did not mean just a generator of feelings. It was the control center of the entire inner self. It represented:
A. The Mind and Intellect: Where a person thinks, reasons, understands, and processes wisdom.
B. The Seat of Will and Choice: The decision-making hub where motivations, intentions, and moral commitments take root.
C. The Emotional Center: The deep internal place of joy, love, pain, and hope.
However, as the Scriptures were translated into Greek and spread across the Greco-Roman world, the Greek word for heart (kardia) became increasingly linked primarily to emotions. To protect the original Hebrew depth of levav—ensuring that our thoughts, intellectual devotion, and rational choices were explicitly included—Jesus added dianoia (mind).
Why was it that important?
To love God with all your "levav" means to offer Him your entire psyche and inner self—every thought, decision, drive, and emotion. It means resetting Your Inner Control Center.
As you step into a new week filled with decisions, meetings, and competing demands, God is not just asking for your Sunday emotions or a passing feeling of devotion. He is inviting you to dedicate your entire inner control center to Him.
Loving God with your whole mind and levav this week, includes:
1. Intentional Thinking: Giving God authority over your focus, media consumption, and internal narrative rather than letting anxiety or distraction dominate your thoughts.
2. Aligned Decision-Making: Bringing your choices, business strategies, and daily habits under His guidance, using your intellect to honor Him.
3.Integrated Faith: Refusing to separate your faith from your work or practical life, knowing that every rational thought and deliberate choice is an act of worship.
Reflect on this: What has been capturing your mental energy and focus over the last few days? How can you yield your "mind" to God this morning?
Is there a decision facing you this week where you need to choose God's principles over personal convenience or culture's trends?
Arrow Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for inviting me to love You not just with my feelings, but with my mind, my choices, and my whole inner self. As I begin this week, I yield my levav—my intellect, my motives, and my decision-making—to You. Forgive me for the times I have relied on my own understanding or allowed worldly distractions to shape my thoughts.
Holy Spirit, guard my mind today. Fill my thoughts with truth, anchor my decisions in Your wisdom, and help me love You with every part of who I am.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
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