You Probably Don't Need That

I want to have a better attitude about needs and wants.

I don't think I need everything I say I do.

I don't need new clothes.
I don't need that cellphone.
And though it pains me to say this, I don't need another guitar.
I don't need another guitar pedal.
When you think about it, nobody really needs a guitar at all.
I know. Rock and roll sacrilege. But it's not a need.
Neither is sports.
Or deodorant.
Although many people would debate that last one.

Don't get me wrong, having wants isn't wrong in itself. Having conveniences and pleasures isn't bad all the time. In fact it's often very good. Imagine life without music, for example? All I'm talking about is making a distinction and having the right attitude about material things. Because attitude is a big deal.

Starving Masses in Africa
We all know the line: "Finish your food! Don't you know that there are starving masses in Africa who don't have food?!" Every parent has said it to their kids at some point. And if they haven't, they will. It's written somewhere in the Secret Parenting Manual under "How To Send Your Kids on a Guilt Trip". Every kid sarcastically wonders how their leftovers can solve the problem of mass starvation, not realizing that the point is not the food. It's the attitude.

If kids can have the right attitude about food, without their realizing it, they will become better stewards of things. Their impulses will be in check, and they won't bite off more than they can chew, figuratively and literally.

It's the same for us. If we have an attitude that we don't have everything we need, we will make needs our priority. Since I supposedly "need" a better cellphone, that will be a priority. Since I supposedly "need" more clothes, shopping will be my priority. And at the end of the day, we spend so much time and energy on ourselves, thinking we sit high on the priority list because we've mistaken wants for needs, when the world has so many needs. And the love of God impels us, throws us out into the world and demands that we get over ourselves and start focusing on serving others.

You're Rich
A need is something essential to survival: food and water, shelter and clothing are such essentials. If you have these, you have what you need. If you have these in abundance, you have more than enough, which is good. And if you have all that and a lot more, you're rich. The mere fact that I can afford to type this entry on a computer, and you can afford to read it tells that we probably sit comfortably among the richer people on planet earth. My full closet, the large appliance-filled house I live in, the car I drive, my musical gear, my multiple pairs of shoes -- these tell me I am rich. And while there may be a lot of people who have more than I do, there are far more billions who have far, far less.

So is this a guilt-trip, like the "starving masses in Africa" line? Well, that's not the intention. But I want to change the way I see the world, and maybe help spark a change in others. If we realize we already have more than we need, we'll be more free to be used by God to meet the needs of others.