This post is a continuation of a discussion from the RiverGroups blog which I also write. The complementary post from that blog can be found HERE.
Forgive me, but I couldn’t leave this discussion of need from the RiverGroups post without touching on how our own needs are met. Even though we do have a mission to fulfill, each and every one of us still have needs that must be met. How do we balance a sense of mission with our own very real needs?
In what is arguably the most well known model used to describe human need, psychologist Abraham Maslow developed his “Hierarchy of Needs.” It’s shaped like a pyramid and made up of layer upon layer of different need types. You can see it below. The thought is that after meeting the most fundamental need on the bottom, we can then move up to meet the next need. This step process continues until the top of the pyramid is finally reached, representing the highest fulfillment of human need.
This model says we must meet our own needs first, then move up the pyramid until we “self-actualize” and be useful to others. For example, if someone with the capacity to be a medical genius has no food to eat (the 1st level), it becomes very difficult for them to develop a cure for cancer (the 5th level). All their effort must be tied up in taking care of their first level needs, mainly food. There is no energy or time left to devote to finding a cure for cancer.
It takes a lot of energy, time, resources, and talent to reach the top of this pyramid. In doing so, Maslow’s model fits nicely with the American Dream as discussed from the RiverGroups post-expend all your time and effort into building yourself up but leaving little left for anyone else. Even though the world’s intent is to become something more than it is, in practice it becomes useless to everyone.
Which brings us to the problem with this traditional view of meeting our needs—it’s completely backwards. For the Christian, the model isn’t based on material need but rather on a relationship with God. You see, when a person becomes a Christian they begin at the top of the pyramid. They’ve attained the highest level of human achievement by entering into a relationship with God. It’s what we were created for.
So what about all the needs below the top level? That’s the best part about being a Christian—God has already taken care of them all. Take another look at the levels in the pyramid and consider:
- Our esteem and status lie in being the children of God. (Romans 8:14-17)
- We love each other as the family of God. (I John 4:19-21)
- Our security rests in him. (Psalms 125:1-2)
- God is the provider of all our resources, even food and water. (Matthew 6:31-34)
The way our needs are met is completely opposite of the way the world’s needs are met. This fits the same reverse logic we find all through Jesus’ teachings.
Matthew 20:16
So the last will be first, and the first will be last.
Matthew 20:26-28
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 16:24-26
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?
Unfortunately, we can not follow the world’s model of trying to meet our own needs without it impacting our mission as a Christian. Once we realize we’ve reached the top of our need pyramid by accepting Christ as our savior, we can fulfill our mission by helping others reach the top of theirs.
Live The Mission,
Greg
