“ One thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek: To dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life.” Psalm 27:4
I studied a bit of psychology in high school and college. That’s what one does when working toward a social sciences degree. Intro to Psych, Psychology of Elections, Behavior and Psychology were all classes that fit in with my Political Science and History studies. In several classes, we discussed Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the five basic needs upon which all human motivation is based. These needs propel us to seek food, safety, shelter, companionship, self-esteem, and self-actualization (becoming the best versions of ourselves). These needs are depicted in a pyramid structure with our most basic physiological needs at the bottom, and self-actualization (the hardest and most often last to achieve—if ever) was the small point at the top.
The creator of this hierarchy of needs, Abraham Maslow was an atheist, though he did come to believe that spiritual (what he called “peak”) experiences were very important and added meaning to human lives. He believed psychology was a replacement for religion, giving humans a way to discover their fears, desires, etc. through more empirical means than spiritual ones. Maslow’s hierarchy was meant to show the progression of humans, not just in terms of what they needed, but in how they sought their needs.
The Shaky Foundation
It makes perfect sense to me that our most fundamental needs are those of survival—air, water, food, sleep, and shelter—and that the basis for these is purely physical. I also see the next level of need as a worldly concept. Maslow and society tell us that humans can only thrive and survive if they have personal safety, good health, financial security, and a sense of order. Though the psalmist would argue what we hear in today’s reading, “The Lord is my light and salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).
Maslow didn’t get this. He didn’t understand that fear can be overcome by faith. The bottom of the hierarchy focuses on physical needs, and he’s not wrong. However, it’s in the higher levels, where our spiritual needs are much greater, that his argument falls short and leaves our pyramid on shaky ground.
The Building Block
Maslow labeled the third level of need—really, the third stage of personal growth—as Love and Belonging. This includes the desire for friendship, intimacy, family, and a connection to a group or community. It is beginning with this level where I feel Maslow, his hierarchy, and society have built their houses (or pyramid) on sand.
Every person has a need to belong. There is no argument about this. However, our need for belonging goes much deeper than Maslow’s assertion that humans desire friendship, family, and community. What humans need is true love, and not just familial love, sexual love, or “I like my sketchers, but I love my Prada backpack” love (Ten Things I Hate About You). This love doesn’t come from lovers, spouses, friends, parents, or objects, though one can experience deep, meaningful love through many of these ways. Humans find this love when they open themselves to Love Itself, to the all-loving Creator who cannot be defined by earthly means of affection and offers unconditional and unwavering love.
We are like little lost lambs, combing the valley for our master, not knowing where to turn or how to find him. We are so busy seeking worldly goods, societal approval, and physical affection without going deeper to find the love we truly need. It is not the verb we should be seeking—“to love”—but the very essence of love Itself, God, who is at the same time seeking us! And when we find that love—or when He finds us—it is God who calls out to everyone what we read in today’s Gospel, “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep” (Luke 15:6).
The Rise of the Pyramid
Now we come to the fourth need, Self-Esteem. A person feels wonderful when a parent or teacher praises him or her for a job well done or recognizes a particular accomplishment. However, have you ever noticed that one achievement is never enough? Humans spend their lives trying to achieve more, training to go higher, running the extra mile, or redefining the goal. We can never reach our objectives because they are always being expanded, heightened, and pushed out of reach with each accomplishment. We spend our lives reaching for the stars without our feet planted firmly on the ground.
We cannot find true peace and self-esteem when we are always trying to be our own gods. We strive to be the best, the most perfect, an icon to be revered because we are looking for acceptance and meaning through the eyes of society and not through the eyes of the one, true God. Who are we trying to impress? To what heights do we feel the need to climb to reach perfection?
When Jesus says, in Matthew 5:48, “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” He doesn’t mean we need to be perfect in human terms. He’s asking us to transform ourselves into our truer nature—the image and likeness of God Himself. He wants us to love like He does, see the world as He sees it, and love ourselves the way He loves us.
Reaching the Top
This brings us to the highest need, that of Self-Actualization. Maslow claimed most people will never obtain this in their lifetimes. It is here where we become the best possible versions of ourselves—that combination of all the qualities we accrue as we progress toward the pinnacle of the pyramid. Maslow didn’t believe most human beings could reach this because he was an obstacle to himself in “thinking not as God does, but as human beings do” (Matthew 16:23). Today’s psalmist tells us, “I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:13-14).
When we put our faith one hundred percent in the Lord, we do not need to worry about the physiological needs. When we love without fear, we can have faith that our safety needs will be taken care of. We must seek God’s love first and foremost above all other forms of love for that is how we discover real love here on earth. “We love because He loved us first” (1 John 4:19).
Through that love, we discover who we are, and we begin to love ourselves. “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us” (1 John 4:10). We need to see in ourselves the love in today’s Gospel, which is so great that He would “leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it” (Luke 15:4). Once we feel that love, we can’t help but love ourselves through His eyes. In reaching that point, we are well on our way to being the best versions of ourselves. Once there, we will be able to sing as Paul does in our first reading, “For if we live, we live in the Lord, and if we die, we die in the Lord” (Romans 14:8).
The View From the Top
Everyone is seeking something. Each of us needs to feel sheltered, safe, loved, esteemed, and accomplished. Maslow had that correct. However, his lack of understanding about God and faith caused him to fall short of recognizing where we find all those things, how we satisfy all our needs, and what gives us the strength and confidence to achieve the greatest prize: “to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” (Psalm27:4). That is the tip of the pyramid we are all trying to build.
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” – St. Augustine, Confessions
First published at The Catholic Writers Guild Blog, November 6, 2025