Heart or Mind?

“Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’” (Matthew 22:37 NLT)

There are times in all our lives when we do things we don’t want to do. We say or think: “I’ll do this, but my heart’s not in it!” It may be cutting the grass or helping someone move a piano, but our heart and mind just aren’t in sync. How does that work in our walk with Jesus?

According to the verse above there must be an alignment of our heart, soul, and mind, but what does that mean? How do we recognize when that happens? What are some indicators that we’re on the right track?

The plot thickens because, as noted above, there are times when our heart and mind are the proverbial “polar opposites.” Think of Tax Day! Your Accountant calls and says: “I have good news and bad news. The good news is I have your taxes completed and you’ll be able to file on time. The bad news is, you owe $3,767. Your heart sinks and your mind rebels.

R.C. Sproul wrote: “The word of God can be in the mind without being in the heart, but it cannot be in the heart without first being in the mind.“ Heart, in the verse above is the Greek word “kardia (kar-dee’-ah).” Sound familiar? Have you been to the Cardiologist recently? Ironically, heart and mind are sometimes used interchangeably, but they have separate and distinct meanings.

The heart is the center of physical life. If your heart stops working, you’re likely not going to be around much longer. It’s considered in the Bible to be the center of all physical and spiritual life. According to Strong’s “it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors.” You can think of your heart as being the “cockpit” of your life. It’s essentially the guiding force of who you are and what you do, for good or evil.

The word “soul” is the Greek word “psuche (psoo-khay)” from which comes our English word “psyche.” It can mean virtually the same things “heart” can mean, with one major difference. The soul is that part of us that lives forever, the part of us that God specifically designed and created to survive earth and last throughout eternity. It’s our character, the essence of who we are as human beings. It’s what defines us. When physical life ends, the soul lives on.

Couple that with your mind, which is the center of understanding and imagination. It’s what is reflected in the way we think and feel, our thoughts, either good or bad. Our heart, soul, and mind are inextricably interwoven and are, on many levels, inseparable. What Jesus is saying is that if we’re to love God fully, we must love Him as an integrated being – with every area and dimension of our lives.

Dr. Sproul’s observation is helpful because it alerts us to the possibility of loving God with our mind, apart from loving Him with our heart. What are the implications? We can love, serve, and obey the Lord out of a sense of obligation or duty, but our heart’s not really in it. It’s void of emotion and built on information processed in our mind, without being affected by the heart.

On the other hand, if we love God with our heart, it must engage our mind. Think of a chain on a bicycle. As the feet push the pedals, the chain transfers the energy expended to the rear wheel that activates movement. Your heart can desire God, even love Him on some levels, but it takes the mind to engage the movement of your life to God’s honor and glory.

So, the issue is never heart or mind. It must always be heart and mind devoted fully to fulfilling the Lord’s purposes in and through our life.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊