Maslow's Musts

Maslow's Musts



Okay, everyone else has a "needs list" or a "wish list" so since we're radically trying to change the rules to helping people, Abraham Maslow came to mind.

Dr. Maslow was the chair of the psychology dept. of Brandeis University for about 18 years. He noticed (while working with monkeys) that some needs take precedence over others.  For example, if you are hungry and thirsty you will quench your thirst first. Thirst is a stronger need than food. If you are suffocating, hungry and thirsty your stronger need will be air! Got it?

He took the basics of the above and created his famous "hierarchy of needs." Think of a pyramid and the first 1/5th is Physiological Needs (air, water, food, sleep, etc.) Then up one level and you have Safety Needs (Safety, security, shelter, etc.) then you have Belonging Needs (Intimate relationships, friends) then Esteem Needs (prestige, self-esteem, confidence, feeling of accomplishment) and then at the top Self-Actualization (achieving one's potential , including creative ideas). (Go to http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html to learn more)

So we start at the bottom and work our way up. In a perfect world an individual will start with a good foundation and work their way up to self-actualization (or in Jesus' world becoming the Christ follower God called you to be). But, most of the people I58IHS serves are people who rarely if ever leave level one and two.

Who can think about being creative or philosophical or brainy if you live in a shack with no food, no electricity, no water, no job AND you're worried that you'll get evicted from this dump?

People cannot become all they are created to be when they go from crisis to crisis.  Think about the basics of your life that you take for granted. When you turn the faucet you have hot and cold running water, your kids have every toy imaginable, you can put your baby to bed and not worry about the ceiling leaking or a rat chewing on your baby's toes or your mate coming in drunk and beating the crap out of you. You get in a car that you own (or are buying), you can afford the gas, your tags are current and you have a valid driver's license. You go to work because you don't have any felonies on your record or a history of drug abuse. You have a stove to cook dinner on and a fridge to keep your food cold and ice cubes coming out of your icebox door. There are no gaping holes in your floors or walls where the heat or cold comes blowing inside. You go to a movie and out to eat once in awhile and it's not a choice between not paying for meds or rent. You take vacations. You don't have to use your income tax refund to catch up on bills. You don't have to make 3 transfers on the public bus only to miss one and lose your job or get an Incomplete for missing another class.  

I could go on and you know that I could...but I want us to see how much we really have and how much we take it all for granted. Take time to thank Jesus tonite and catch up on your thankfulness journal.

So the items we list on our Maslow's Musts are gonna be unique and sometimes expensive. Our goal is to meet a tangible need, alleviate some stress, elminate some crisis and make sure the folks we're helping know that Jesus cares and He loves them very much...which is why we're offering a helping hand. We try to offer suggestions on how they can keep from falling into crisis over and over, we invite them to church and we share with them the hope that is ONLY in Jesus. We stick with them and we tell them even if they go into crisis again, if God provides the funds we'll help them again. No time frames, no limits, no worthiness checks, no judgment, no strings.

So check out our Maslow's Musts and if you can make a difference by donating something listed...just give me a call and we'll figure out a way to get it.

Take good care.

In His service,

deni

Isaiah 58, In His Service, Inc.

918-260-1933