Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can help
Years ago, my husband and I moved our family to a home in a lovely neighborhood in the country. Our neighbors were kind and welcoming. With such a nice group of people, I had no issue with Jesus’ command to love my neighbor as myself.
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37–39 NIV)
But, how are you supposed to love your neighbor as yourself if you don’t love yourself?
I’ve had times in my life where I suffered from very low self-esteem. Other times, I didn’t like myself very much. So, how was I to love others when I struggled to love myself?
I’ve learned that healthy self-love means taking care of our basic needs.
I remember learning about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in high school. The theory suggests that all people need their basic needs to be satisfied before moving on to meeting other needs. The basic needs are physiological: we don’t want to be hungry, thirsty, exhausted, freezing, overheating, sick, or in pain. Even when I suffered from low self-esteem, I still ate every day, put clothes on, and tried not to hurt myself.
This is the kind of love we need to have for our neighbors. Loving others as ourselves means working to meet their basic physiological needs. As Christians, we are commanded to ensure that our neighbors are fed, clothed, and housed as well as they can be.
And when we do as God asks and help others meet their basic needs we get a boost in our self-esteem. A win-win-win.