What Do We Really Need?

So, other than forgiveness of sins, do we have any needs? Do we need relationships or not? The answer depends on what you mean by need. If we are talking about psychological needs, then no, we do not need relationships - with God or people - to fill our longings for significance and love. That would be like saying that I need God to meet my need to feel great and important. Self-serving needs are not meant to be satisfied; they are meant to be put to death.

But what about the fact that Scripture commands us to love each other? Doesn't that mean we need love? Not necessarily. More accurately, it means that we need to love rather than that we have a psychological deficit that must be filled with love (and meaning, significance, and so on). Keep in mind thatt we have been created in the image of God. This means that we have been given gifts that enable us to represent and imitate him. Since we are were created in love and are now sustained by God's patient love, we bring glory to God by imitating his persistent love. We love not because people have psychological deficits; we love because God first loved us.

- Ed Welch, When People Are Big And God Is Small, p. 162, 163

This quote is really challenging me. If taken to heart this could be a revolution for most of us, but how gloriously freeing! As Welch says in other parts of the book, "I need to fear people less and love people more."

The only thing I would qualify in the quote is the phrase above that says, "Self-serving needs are not meant to be satisfied; they are meant to be put to death." I would rather have it say something different. God wants us to be self-serving. Sounds crazy right? But if we were truly self-serving, we would run to God (not away from Him), knowing that "at his right hand are pleasures forever more" (Psalm 16:11).

"It is more blessed to give than receive" (Acts 20:35). Does God want us to pursue this blessing? I think he does, or else he would not have told us this truth. If I really wanted to serve myself, I would believe God and seek the infinite blessing of being a radical giver.

Choosing to deny self is the path to the greatest joy. God wants me to pursue this joy knowing that he will be glorified and I will be satisfied. I should pursue this satisfaction. God's glory and my joy/satisfaction/pleasure/blessing are not at odds as if I had to take a pick. They are the same pursuit.