Why Is It Important to Love God with Your Heart, Soul, and Mind?

Just to reinforce the point, consider these verses about the heart and it will underscore the importance of the heart in loving God.

The word for soul in the Greek is psyche which we get the word psychology from. The soul is the seat of your will and your emotions. Both the emotions you feel and your determination exists in the soul level. Our emotions, good and bad, our drive to achieve and overcome, all dwell within the soul level.  

The word for mind used in this verse can mean your mind, your thoughts, your intellect, your disposition, or your understanding. The mind is also the place where your decisions are made. That’s why when we want to make different choices, we need to renew our minds as Paul mentioned in Romans 12:2. If we are going to love God, it is not just strictly an emotional decision, but is a choice or decision of the will.

I want to reiterate love is a decision of the will. However, it is understanding the roles the heart, mind, and soul play which allow you to come to this decision. When you love God with your heart, this means you are turning your affections towards him. The love of God sits in a special place in your heart. When this happens, it begins to affect your moral decisions. Remember Jesus said if you love me, you will obey my commands (John 14:15). This love of God in your heart also affects the things you are drawn to, the things you choose to devote yourself to and the things you desire. In fact, another understanding of Psalm 37:4 which we looked at earlier, is that as you delight yourself in the Lord, he will put the desires he wants in your heart.

When you love God with all your soul it affects your emotions and shapes your will. This is why there are moments when you think about God, or you enter God’s presence that you get emotional. Your soul is engaged, and because of that your emotions come along with it. It’s why sometimes you might cry, or rejoice, or shout, or even be silent because your soul is overcome by the majesty of who God is. In Psalm 103:1 David said, “Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me.” Within this expression of praise, David was bringing his emotions with him as he offered praise to God. Don’t ever apologize about being emotional or having feelings of love toward God. It is how you were created, and it is normal and healthy to feel that way.

When you love God with all your mind it affects your decisions and choices. Since we make decisions in our mind, it is here that your decision to love God is sealed. It is important to note that you cannot love God without understanding. In other words, you can’t love God if you don’t know him. If you are going to know him, you must bring your mind along in the process because the love of God which begins in the heart is sealed in your mind. 

Here is what happens when you combine all these things together: the heart, mind, and soul. These three things together give you the capacity to love God with everything in you. The reason this happens is because this love has engaged you in your innermost being (heart), in your emotions and will (soul) and in your actions and choices (mind).

Allow me to leave this final thought with you. The heart impacts the soul. The soul impacts the mind, and when all three are combined it’s how we come to the place to truly love God. This process begins in your heart and remember everything you do flows out of it. By the time it passes through your soul and reaches your mind it will ultimately impact the way you live. This is why it is so important to love God with your heart, soul, and mind. When you do this, it goes beyond an emotional level and begins to shape how you think, feel and ultimately what you do. When you get to this place, then your love of God is truly impacting every part of your life.

More from this author
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Who Are the People You Are Thankful For, and Do They Know It?
Are You Conducting Yourself in a Manner Worthy of the Gospel?

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Clarence L. Haynes Jr. is a speaker, Bible teacher, and co-founder of The Bible Study Club.  He is the author of The Pursuit of Purpose which will help you understand how God leads you into his will. His most recent book is The Pursuit of Victory: How To Conquer Your Greatest Challenges and Win In Your Christian Life. This book will teach you how to put the pieces together so you can live a victorious Christian life and finally become the man or woman of God that you truly desire to be. Clarence is also committed to helping 10,000 people learn how to study the Bible and has just released his first Bible study course called Bible Study Basics. To learn more about his ministry please visit clarencehaynes.com.