How Maslow’s Steps Lead To Jesus.

Well here I am, back in the writing game. Writing, like most things in my life, is something that I phase in and out of. I absolutely love everything about it, but somehow, at times, it gets left behind.

I am sure most of you have heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of need. I studied it in college and somehow, 3 years later I am finally using it! For those of you who have never heard of this let me fill you in. It’s a psychology thing introduced by this dude named Abraham Maslow in 1943. Basically he presented this pyramid…

The bottom of the pyramid represents a human’s basic needs and then it works its way up. These needs can occur at the same time, but basically his argument was that when a person fulfills a need at the bottom of the pyramid they go to the next one and so on and so forth.

When I started thinking of Maslow’s theory a few days ago I was thinking about it in terms of faith. I spend a lot of my time at my church and with my husband and closest friends, all of whom encourage my relationship with Jesus Christ on a deep spiritual level. But I have begun thinking about what happens to our faith when we are missing the first few things on the pyramid, or if we never had them.

Of course the gift of God’s love and peace is that we can find His joy in every situation, but let’s be honest, it isn’t always that easy. And what about the people Who have never been able to get above the two lowest levels on the pyramid or even the first three. Those people who are starving, homeless, jobless, alone.

Just like so many things in life, the transition from empty to full is one of many steps. Those steps are so incredibly important. It’s not the talking about Jesus that brings people to Him, it’s being Him with skin on, showing people love by leading them through the steps of the pyramid, not expecting them to launch themselves from the bottom to the top.

Do not underestimate the power of being God’s hands and feet. Loving the least of these should not be taken lightly. Feed the hungry, house the homeless, tend to the sick. You don’t need to go to another country to do it. There are people in your life right now who need to see Jesus living and breathing through you.