Needs, Wants, and More Worries
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.“ (Matthew 6:31-32 NIV84) [see full text in button/link below]
Not all the same
Needs, wants, and worries differ from each other. Did you know there are different kinds of worry? For example, we can worry about what we need for a given day, like food and shelter. That’s a worry of concern.
Concerns about having enough to eat and drink, as well as a safe place to live, are justifiable. If a person doesn’t have a personal relationship with God through faith, it would be reasonable to worry about such things. They are the basic needs of life according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. 1 But as considered in a previous devotional, when we worry about the essentials of life, it’s a clear indicator of our lack of trust in the Lord.
The coronavirus pandemic set off panic buying in brick-and-mortar stores and online. I still don’t understand why toilet paper and bottled water were hoarded. That typically happens during a hurricane scare here in Florida. It was still hard to find a good supply of toilet paper even two months into the quarantine order! It defies logic. It’s not rational. It’s fear-based hoarding.
This may be understandable for people who do not believe in God. It even makes sense for people who are religious but don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus as their Lord.
However, it is not reasonable for citizens of God’s Kingdom to worry about such things. If we are genuine citizens of the Kingdom of God, we are to trust in the Lord rather than worry. For we know worry displaces our trust in the Lord.
Insights
Another kind of worry relates to what we want more than what we need—non-essentials. It’s interesting to me how worry over wants can replace our worry over needs. When needs are met, it seems we still find something to worry about. But it’s more of a distraction than a concern.
This kind of worry seems to grow in proportion to what we already have—our possessions and wealth. When our basic needs are being met, our thoughts drift towards things we desire or want. This is the purpose of advertising. Some ads stir up our basic desires, from food to clothes. Other commercials appeal to our dreams and daydreams—a nicer car, a bigger and better house, or perhaps an exotic vacation.
When we lived overseas, our needs seemed more basic than when we lived in the States. After several months, we seemed to adjust to a simpler life. When we went to the only “supermarket” in our town, there wasn’t much choice. It wasn’t like the big chain supermarkets we knew in the States. Often, we couldn’t find things we considered “necessities” before, things like fresh cow’s milk and cheese, or even peanut butter or breakfast cereal.
We bought most of our produce and meat at the public market. Actually, it’s more accurate to say our cook bought these basics. She was Filipina and knew which vendors and stalls were best. She also got a much better price than if we showed our white faces. That’s a reality of living in another country as an expat. No matter how well we speak the local language or understand cultural norms, we are foreigners.
What’s ironic is what’s called reverse culture shock, when cross-cultural missionaries return “home” on a furlough. I put home in quotation marks because it isn’t home as it was before. Life goes on without us back home. Another big change is in us. We are no longer the same people. Our worldview and life experiences have expanded. It’s said that the only time a long-term missionary feels “at home” is while traveling between their home on the field and their home of origin.
Almost anyone who spends significant time away from their home culture—ranging from a few to several years—becomes a world citizen. This is true for ex-pats in overseas business, military personnel, and cross-cultural missionaries. 2
As followers of Jesus, we become Kingdom citizens. Our priorities will change. Our outlook on life changes. We change from the inside out. But when our worry over wants replaces what we need, our citizenship in God’s Kingdom comes into question. When we worry about what we desire, long for, or want, we’ve crossed a line of sorts. It’s not a line we can see, and this is at the heart of our dilemma.
When we cross this line, we lose sight of who we are in God’s eyes. The priorities of our lives become centered on ourselves, our selfish nature, rather than honoring the Lord. The appetites and desires of our physical life supersede our spiritual life and nature. God created humans in His image and gave Adam the responsibility to care for the world God created (see Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15).
As citizens of God’s Kingdom, we differ from non-believers in God. When we make the things of this world a higher priority than the things of God and His realm, we forget who we are.
True Faith
True faith and citizenship in God’s Kingdom. Jesus distinguishes between those who know God as their heavenly Father and those who don’t. A distinction between the citizens of God’s Kingdom and those outside of it.
The word for those who are not citizens of the Kingdom of God is ethnos (anglicized from the Greek). In English Bible versions, it’s translated in several ways—gentiles, nations, pagans, heathen, peoples. Within the context of Israel, it stood for those who were non-Jewish, also known as “the uncircumcised” (see Acts 11:1-4).
A simple way to understand this distinction, within the context of these verses in Matthew 6, is between those who are spiritually minded and those who are not. The citizens of God’s Kingdom are spiritually minded. Those who are not citizens of His kingdom have their minds and priorities focused on the things of this world.
Jesus is reminding God’s people who they are and their importance to the Father. As believers, we are far more important than “the lilies of the field,” yet King Solomon’s rich clothing paled in comparison to the beauty of wildflowers that only last for a season.
Jesus reminds those who personally trust in God that they are more than their physical existence. When we become the people of God, citizens in His kingdom, we are spiritual beings within our physical bodies.
Jesus also reminds believers of our Father’s care and His sovereign awareness of who we are and what our needs are. He already knows what our needs are in this life. When we make our physical needs and wants more of a priority than our trust relationship with the Lord, we reduce ourselves to the level of those who do not know God—those who don’t trust in their heavenly Father.
Are you a believer or a nonbeliever?
If you’re a believer, why worry about either your needs or even your wants? Your Father in heaven cares for you and will provide for you.
Trust in Him!
Reflections for Prayer
When we make the things of this world a higher priority than the things of God and His realm, we forget who we are. When our physical needs and wants are more of a priority than our relationship with the Lord, we reduce ourselves to the level of those who don’t trust in their heavenly Father.
When you worry about anything, especially non-essential things, choose to submit these things to the Lord in prayer. This is an act of trust. Remember, our Heavenly Father already knows our needs. He wants us to learn this by trusting in Him in all things.
Footnotes–
Mcleod, Saul. “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.” Simply Psychology, Aug. 2025, www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html.
Reverse culture shock is real! Here are two good articles that explain it.
Re-entry and reverse culture shock. (2025, April 6). Carried by Living Water Blog. https://carriedbylivingwater.com/2025/04/06/re-entry-and-reverse-culture-shock/
Cook, M., & Cook, M. (2019, November 22). Reverse culture shock: when home no longer feels like home. IMB. https://www.imb.org/2019/07/10/reverse-culture-shock/
This is an excerpt from a soon-to-be-published book called The Heart and Soul of God’s Kingdom. Look for it on Amazon with my other books— Trip Kimball on Amazon
And you can also see some of my writing over on Substack too! Just click this link– Trip Kimball on Substack
