Humans have at least four sides to them that always need to be taken into account, otherwise we will not be effective in our dealings. People have physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs.
Children are a perfect example of this. Kids have pretty obvious physical needs. They need food, shelter and exercise. They also need emotional care. For them this is clear with constant desire for hugs and reassurance. They’re also always learning and ask a ton of questions. That why they have preschool and learning activities. What people often forget is that children also are very spiritual. They really connect with God, and enjoy Bible and moral stories. Having prayer and rituals at bedtime, eating times and on Sundays is reassuring to them. If you fail to provide faith, they will seek it out with beliefs in fairytales, magical phrases, and rituals.
As adults, we don’t lose these aspects, but sometimes they’re hidden. Pick an part of life and we can see all four.
Work, for example, seems to be just a financial trade of time for money, but that’s not all that we should consider. There are also the other aspects built in that affect our work. We physically labor. Is that safe and comfortable for the workers? Do they have time to eat lunch and go to the bathroom? There is the social and emotional aspect of work with interactions with co-workers, clients. What is the employees and employers relationship like? Does the boss encourage and acknowledge the employees? Are clients demanding or dishonest? Are workers able to learn and improve? Finally there is the often overlooked spiritual meaning we desire in our work. Is it fulfilling and good what we do? Is the world better or worse off for it? Do the workers have time to attend their community worship times? If a job can tick off all boxes, then company will always have willing candidates. That’s why despite their terrible financial returns, multilevel marketing schemes continually find joiners because they’re so good at the emotional and spiritual needs; they’re basically cults. If a company is losing workers, they need to run an inventory of their employees needs beyond paychecks.
Other parts of life can be run through a similar four point test.
Exercise is one. It’s not just a physical activity. We are made of body, mind and spirit. That’s why yoga is such a draw. Sport and athletics are about the body, but also the team and the community. Part of winning and losing is about the mind and discipline of feelings and emotions. Games are often opened with prayers, songs and ceremonies. They also need an audience. The more connected to society, the better chances the team has for success.
Real estate is not just about money for shelter, but the emotional need for neighbors, physical need of safety, intellectual need of good schools, and spiritual need of proximity to churches or houses of worship and connection to the larger community.
Food is not just about eating, but also our environment, social life, mind and spirituality. Fasting and communion are a spiritual disciplines including food. All of our holidays include food. A date isn’t a date if someone isn’t supplying dinner or at least coffee. Eating together is a bonding activity for peers, couples and family. All successful study groups include snacks.
Obesity is such an issue in our culture because we are overeating to fulfill emotional and spiritual needs and nutrition is short changed by taste and convenience. I have found that losing weight not just controlling the physical aspect of food and exercise, but balancing my emotional and spiritual needs too. Am I eating too much or too often because I am actually hungry, or am I bored, lonely, in need of physical or mental stimulation? Can I answer that desire with a better, more appropriate activity? The answer is almost always yes, and now I weigh less and feel more fulfilled because of this change.
A successful church addresses spiritual needs but doesn’t ignore the physical needs of the congregation nor the emotional, intellectual and community connections. Our women’s Bible studies are pretty popular because they include learning, sharing and praying.
People struggling with addiction have found help not only dealing with the medical and physical need for the alcohol and drugs, but also through the community support groups and the desire for spiritual meaning and human connections. The twelve step programs are often in churches or community centers. They help answer the various human needs that the addiction affecting.
As people, we can be in better balance with ourselves and others if we keep these multiplicity of aspects in mind as we think about different parts of life. We need to reconnect our spiritual, emotional, intellectual and physical parts and then we can become whole people again
