The Surprising Number One Human Need
In college, I took a psych class. The professor taught us about an in-depth psychological study that intended to discover the core need of humanity.
best guess, surprising answer
Our professor asked us to guess what we thought humanity’s core need might be.
So a bunch of college kids threw out our educated guesses… belonging, food, security, sex, respect. Maslow has thrown out his hypotheses too. My best guess was love.
We were all wrong.
He said the research study revealed that the core need for humans is this: forgiveness.
our greatest need
People needed, more than anything else, to be forgiven of the things they had done that hurt others. Forgiveness from their spouse, their kids, their parents, their authorities. They needed released from the guilt and shame they carried for everything from neglecting their children to murder.
who can meet that need?
It strikes me that Jesus came to offer forgiveness. He didn’t come for behavior modification or for our religiosity.
Jesus is unlike any other “deity”. All others come to have us earn or work or do enough good to get where we want to go. But Jesus doesn’t oppress us with heavy rules and religious hoops. In fact, it seems that the only people who could really make Jesus mad were the religious leaders who put heavy rules and hopeless expectations of perfection on His people.
Jesus is so radically different. He lived a blameless life and took our place. Jesus trades His perfection for our repentance. He gives us righteousness in exchange for our faith. He gives us beauty in exchange for our ashes. Jesus came to set us free from all that oppresses us.
Jesus came to forgives us, release us, and set us free.
“God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them!”
power to forgive
And Jesus doesn’t only forgive us for how we messed up.
He also gives us the power to forgive those who have hurt us. We have to lay the gavel down.
To be truly free, we need to both be forgiven and offer forgiveness.
Often, we don’t have the power on our own to forgive those who hurt us. In those moments, we can turn to Jesus and pray, “I can’t forgive him on my own. Help me forgive him. I choose to forgive him by your power.”
get set free
Spend some time today to find your freedom. Ask Jesus to forgive you for the things you did wrong that still wreck you. And also ask Jesus to help you forgive those who wronged you.
And be set free.
