Needs versus wants

I have been thinking a decent bit lately about wants versus needs. One of my toddler’s favorite expressions of late has been "I need that." This was especially amusing on Thanksgiving day when he found the Toys R Us ad for Black Friday. He spent quite a bit of time intently searching through that while exclaiming, "I need that! I need that! I need that!" Since then, hearing the phrase repeatedly has become less amusing. I know the difference between needs and wants didn’t really hit home for me until I traveled to a country and spent time with some wonderful, less privileged people. My toddler is not yet old enough for that, but still I am working with him on the difference.

Here’s another thing I’ve been thinking about lately though: When I see someone in a stressful situation – a friend or church-member who has had a baby, gotten out of the hospital, lost a loved one, in the middle of a move or other stressful time, etc. - I often ask them questions like "Do you need a meal?" or "Do you need any help?" However, recently I have been in situations where I did not NEED meals or help – I COULD do it on my own, but they were much appreciated and huge blessings. When people asked me "Do you need . . ." it was easy to say no because I honestly didn’t need these things. However, it was much easier to accept help when someone said, "I would like to bring a meal. What day is best for you?" or "I want to come over to your house and help you clean for a couple hours on Thursday. What time should I come and will you please come up with a list of things my children and I can do?" This has changed how I want to offer help in the future. I want to come up with a specific way that I want to bless the person, then present it as "I want to do this to help you," rather than "Do you need this?" Semantics? Yes, but I think they make a difference.