Deuteronomy 6:4-9: Love = Obedience

"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 might." Deut. 6:4-5

When's the last time your mom told you to take out the trash? Or, when's the last time you told your kid to take out the trash? What was your, or their, response? Did they respond willingly with joy or did they grumble and complain?

In Deuteronomy 6, Moses states for us what is often called the shama. Shema is an ancient Hebrew word for the first English word in these verses: hear! The word "shama" in Hebrew quite literally means to "hear," but also carries with it the idea of obedience. If you listen to something well, you will obey what it is telling you. Thus, Moses is commanding the Israelites to shama, that is, hear, listen and obey.

But what does Moses want the Israelites, as well as us, to hear? Well, he goes on: "The LORD our God, the LORD is one." Moses wants to highlight the fact that the Israelite people are a monotheistic (that is, a one-God) people, who believe not in a multitude of deities, but rather one God who calls himself Yahweh. And because of this one-God mentality, Moses further encourages his people to love this one God with "all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." Although we often fight over what each of these separate terms mean and attempt to categorize different aspects of our lives in these three categories, let us realize what Moses is commanding here: to love God with all of your being. Questioning what exactly it means to love God with your heart, your soul, and your might separately may be beneficial for some people at some times, but we must not let it take away from the point, that is, that God is commanding his people to love them with all that they are.

But why is Moses sticking this mooshy-gooshy statement about love amidst a bunch of commands about obedience? Well, I'm glad you asked. The reason is that according to the Bible, love = obedience. If you love someone, you will obey what they ask of you. Likewise, if you obey someone, that most likely means that you love them. Remember our taking out the trash question? Well, if your kid really loves you, he will willingly, without complaint, in a rapid fashion take the trash out. However, if you have a sinful, bratty, disobedient kid who may have a slightly imperfect love for his parents [imagine that], he may perhaps grumble at your command and not take the trash out at all. Yet through this all, let us realize that your kid [or you] doesn't have an obedience problem, he has a heart problem. His problem isn't his lack of obedience to his parents, but a lack of love for his parents. If he loves you, obedience would surely follow suit.

Now, hear me carefully, I am not saying that just because your kid refused to take out the trash that he hates you with all of his being. However, I am saying that each and every one of us are sinful creatures who fail to love our neighbor perfectly each and every day. When is the last time that you love someone perfectly? I guarantee you that you never have, yet surely we ought to strive more and more each day to love our God and our neighbor as Moses commanded.

However, there is someone that did love his neighbor perfectly, and ultimately it was because he loved his God perfectly, that is, with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. He loved both God and neighbor so much that he gave up his own life on a cross that those who might believe in him would have eternal life (see John 3:16). And it was this very man who called us to obedience in light of his example:

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you." John 14:12-14