Fourth, remember, there is a difference between needs, neediness and just plain nuts.
As I have said, we all have needs and we are all in-need. That experience is part and parcel of what it means to be human.
From time to time, we can all be needy as well — we can let our desperation drive us to insist our needs be met now.
We can let it drive us to give priority to needs that should not take priority.
And we can let our neediness drive us to make foolish choices.
When that happens, it is important to hear the voice of God say to us, “I know you have a need, but be patient, this isn’t the way to meet that need.”
And then, of course, there are those who are just plain nuts —- people who are crazy with need — needs that they have made their God. The psychological term is narcissism, but that turn of phrase all but obscures the spiritual peril.
This is not a just a disorder, a maladjustment — this brand of need is a soul killer and it distorts your view of reality. When that happens, you truly are in danger of losing your soul in the anxious hunger to meet your needs. And I have watched people enter a death spiral of disintegrating relationships, wasted talent, and squandered opportunities trying to serve a need that they have mistaken for God.
Knowing where you are on the spectrum is a key to spiritual health.