Deuteronomy 6:5 (and Mark 12:30, Matthew 22: 37-39)
I’ve read it twice, probably three times, and given the number of times at church and reading individual passages, I might argue a fourth. It is and likely always will be the greatest book (or collection of books) ever written. The number of Bibles sold each year is staggering even after being in print for hundreds of years, and verses having been read and reread for thousands of years. If you have read it as I have, or even portions of it with sincerity you will find it speaks to you in different ways depending on the circumstance you may be currently living. It has been quoted thousands of times, and unbeknownst to many, even Christians, is part of our spoken language and culture in countless ways. Yet, for all its importance to our culture, our history, and our lives both collectively and individually, we seem to miss or ignore its most important point and its highest priority.
No question, the Bible is a heavy read, and I understand why many do not simply sit down and read it. It took me months the first time, just doing a few passages at a time, but it is well worth the effort. There are nearly 70 books that make up the Old and New Testament providing a depth and richness of history, psalms, stories, and prophesies. It is quite a beautiful thing when one thinks about the number of Christian schools and universities in the world, and the depth of research and writings there exist about the Bible. It is massively extensive, and the study continues. We never stop understanding, interpreting, and learning from the Bible, and yet, we continually miss and/or ignore its most important point, and how different this world would be if we got this right.
What is interesting is that the times we hear directly from God it is very clear, concise, and direct so missing its primary point becomes even more of a conundrum. Take the Ten Commandments as an example. They are a perfect illustration of God’s brevity; only ten, not twenty, not one hundred, not a complete doctrine, just ten, and yet how often we fail and get them wrong. What could be simpler than saying don’t kill each other, or don’t steal from each other. Yet, our first reaction seems to be ‘yes but.’ And even with these ten, Jesus is pressed to prioritize the most important. I think his initial reaction must have been, ‘really, you can’t figure this out?’ It should be clear, but unfortunately it is not, and I feel this is where the world has gone off track and possibly heading off the rails.
The Bible is overflowing with messages and lessons to be learned. Just think of the stories that come to mind: Creation, Noah’s Ark, Moses, Job, and of course the story of Jesus and our salvation. His parables alone provide enough to be learned for a lifetime. The mystery and complexity of the Trinity. The miracle of the Eucharist. Plenty to devote a whole life to and many have and still do. Hundreds of novels, movies, television shows and short stories have been produced based on the bible, and we still want more. Each day thousands of homilies and sermons are preached in churches around the world. Our desire to hear, listen and understand is insatiable, in hope that we will find some particular meaning for our own life. We seek and seek and seek and yet no matter how much we look to be fulfilled, most seem to miss or ignore the primary point.
I was one of those. It’s not that I was looking for the wrong thing. It was that I was looking for the wrong reason, that reason being me. My search was always about what I would get out of it. What would be in it for me? How was I to benefit? All that time, looking for me, when my effort should have been for God.
Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength
The Bible provides a lifetime of guidance and inspiration, and I have used it for this purpose throughout my own life. Yet, for all the times I have spent reading and rereading I somehow missed its primary message. Of course, I’ve heard and read this message many times, but the true depth and importance of it never came through. Perhaps amidst the 700,000 words and hundreds of passages we lose its significance and meaning. Whatever the reason, I knew I needed to bring this back to center because without it, nothing else matters.
The message is stated in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 6:5 where Moses, after putting forth the Ten Commandment, declares unequivocally how our relationship with God is supposed to work.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”
In this short, concise one sentence statement Moses makes clear what is required of every human being. He then further reinforces its importance in Deuteronomy 6:6-9
“Take to heart these words which I command you today. Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up.
Bind them on your arm as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.
Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.
And if there was any doubt or question about its importance, Jesus addresses this hundreds of years later in Mark 12:30 (and Matthew 22: 37-39 and Luke 10:27). When pressed to prioritize which is the most important Commandment, our Lord answers:
“The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
It was this passage that answered a question I had been subconsciously asking my whole life. Why am I here? What is my purpose? What am I supposed to do with my life?
Love God.
Does anything more need to be said? Do we need to read any further? Or do we first need to think about what loving God really means, and then focus our lives on just that. I recognized that although I was a devout and practicing Catholic, much of what I did was for me and not for God, thus putting my love for self before God. Even going to church was about what I would get out of it, failing to remember that I was there to worship and love Him. It was clear that I needed go through a complete realignment of life’s priorities making loving God not just a priority, but THE priority in life. But can I?
Loving someone is not always easy. I’ve been married for over 32 years. The love I have for my wife and family is so deep and so strong and so never good enough. If you love someone that much, you know what I mean. You do everything you can for that person before yourself, even to a point of giving your life if necessary. It doesn’t come easy. In fact, its damn hard. There is no question of the depth of love I have for my wife and family, and it goes deeper with time, and yet we are commanded to love God above all else. So, I had to ask myself, do I? And if not, then how do I because the love God requires is all of one’s heart, soul, mind and strength, providing very little room for anything else.
I can tell you I love my wife with all my heart; but what about soul, mind, and strength? That is a whole other level, and yet this is what we are commanded to do in our relationship with God. Just dwell on the idea of loving someone with all your heart, your whole heart. Now think about loving them with all your soul, then mind, then strength. Consider each separately and then taken together. There is no room for anything else, and that is what we are commanded to do above all else. This is THE main point, and getting this right takes care of everything else. You need not go any further in your Bible study.
If you love God with heart, soul, mind and strength, you will follow the rest of the commandments. You will love your neighbor as yourself because each human being was created by the one you love most. Of course, treating them wrongly will hurt Him and why would you do this? You will learn to love and respect everything about His creation and care for it. Consider someone you truly love. Would you purposely hurt their friends? Would you purposely steal from them or lie about them? Would you destroy their property? Of course not, so imagine how much more we need to do this for God, with our hearts, soul, mind, and strength. There is no middle ground.
So, I say to every believer, assess your priorities: family, spouse, career in relation to God. If there is even a close second, it’s time to realign them, and when you do, the world will begin to look differently, and everything will begin to fall into its proper place. Even the difficult times will have new meaning for as Paul tells us in Roman 8:28.
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
We are not here for ourselves; we are here for He that created us, and yes, the path we follow is our choice, but it must be within the context of loving God first. This is the main point, nothing else matters.