In 1943 psychologist Abraham Maslow presented his hierarchy of human needs. In second priority Maslow puts esteem, the need for acceptance and belonging — finding people who will take you in as part of the “pack.” In my youth I often jumped from one peer group to another. I’d adapt to their terms, and when their terms became too much, I’d move to the next available foxhole.

During my college years, the competition for acceptance and belongingness was so intense that I became mentally exhausted by week’s end. A day off school wasn’t enough for a rest. Evolutionary law says it’s all about survival of the fittest and elimination of the weak.

What I found in the church was the opposite. In this house was the beautiful rule to love, edify, and admonish one another (Colossians 3:16). Hurried, worried people should see and experience God, for in Him “There is therefore now no condemnation . . .” (Romans 8:1, KJV). The world demands that we fit its standard to get through the week, but Jesus has conquered the world. I choose to stand at His side, more than a conqueror.

Living under the umbrella of a moody climate, I often suffer from the weather shifts: flu to fever to colds. When it gets complicated, I consult a physician. It’s the same with my church. I don’t attend for the sake of attendance but as a response to inner needs. Exposed to the world’s radiation day by day, our medication comes when we step into God’s house each Sabbath. After a good visit to the doctor and the prescription kicks in, I am free from that which used to pin me to bed. And after a joyful moment at church, I am able to face another week spiritually pumped and refreshed.