3 key differences between having needs and being needy

As people who are composed of body, soul, and spirit, it’s vitally important that we learn to

listen to the needs of our physical bodies,
be aware of our emotional and psychological cues,
and be sensitive to the Spirit alive within us, in order to stay healthy.

But we can’t stop at being tuned in to those needs—we also need to learn to be our own advocate. It is not selfish to learn to care for our whole selves—instead, we practice being good stewards of this bodily temple entrusted to us.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NIV calls us to remember, ^“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”

We honor God’s temple when we care well for our whole self: body, soul, spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV again asks us “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

It is obviously important to God that we care for ourselves. Yet, as believers, we know that being aware, advocating for, and prioritizing our needs does not mean that we meet those needs at the expense of others. We can have needs without being people who are needy.

3 Key Differences Between Having Needs and Being Needy