Jesus had a simple life. He lived quietly with his family in a village for thirty years where he worked at a trade to help support his mother. He became a self-taught Bible expert, but other than that his childhood was unremarkable and his biographers don’t have much to say about it.

It appears he took almost nothing with him when he left home. He walked everywhere he went, ate whatever food was offered to him, and slept wherever someone provided him with a bed. He was happy to sleep outdoors when the occasion called for it.

He appreciated the hospitality of others, and he could also be extravagantly generous sometimes. He got a kick out of feeding a crowd, and as far as we know, he never said no to an invitation to a party because he liked meeting lots of different people and he loved hearing their stories.

Jesus loved the outdoors and admired the beauty of nature. He preferred the perfection of a lily to the finery of a king’s robe. He watched his Father provide for the birds and he was confident God would always take care of him, too.

He was worry-free and he encouraged his disciples to live that way, too. Simplicity was part of everything Jesus taught his disciples.

Prayer and Fasting

Jesus didn’t make a big deal out of prayer and fasting. When he prayed he had quiet conversations with his Father in a private place and didn’t waste a lot of words. When he fasted he kept it to himself. Anyone who saw him while he was fasting wouldn’t have noticed anything unusual about him. He combed his hair and washed his face just the way he did any other day.

The point of fasting and prayer was to talk with God the Father and get in sync with his thinking, so Jesus gave his followers a simple way to pray in every situation. It put the focus on the Father and acknowledged his sovereignty in every part of life. He told them,

“This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.’” Matthew 6:9-13

Forgiveness was an important part of the prayer because holding grudges or being angry was distracting and hindered a conversation with God. So Jesus simplified the concept of forgiveness.

“If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive you.” Matthew 6:14-15

Money and Possessions

The Lord Jesus was against storing up treasure on earth. He said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

How sad it would be for a person’s heart to be locked away in some storage unit on earth. How much better to give away money to bless other people and let your heart follow that blessing.

Holding onto money, protecting it, and trying to make it grow turned a person into money’s slave and it didn’t bless anyone. But asking God what to do with money and letting it serve his purposes led to blessing others and being blessed.

Jesus knew that people were going to resist sharing their wealth, but he hoped they would see things his way. If they chose to look at their treasure with eyes of generosity their lives would be flooded with light.

The Lord Jesus lived this way himself. He shared everything he had with whoever was at hand and never worried about what he was going to eat or what he would wear. He noticed that birds and flowers never worried about these things and the Father took care of them. He knew that he and his followers were more valuable to God than birds and flowers.

Seek the Kingdom First

There was a simple way to connect with what was important in life. The disciples could begin by saying the prayer Jesus had taught them:

“Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.’” Matthew 6:9-13

And then they could think about what Jesus said a little later:

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

The point was that God really didn’t want his children to be anxious about anything. They should just pray and trust the Lord today and let tomorrow take care of itself. That’s what Jesus did everyday. Here was his advice on the topic:

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34

Don’t Judge Other People

God the Father has appointed Jesus Christ to be the judge of the whole world. He’s the only one who can do it because he’s the only one who has experienced both God’s point of view and people’s point of view. After his sojourn on earth Jesus’ judgment was shaped both by God’s perfect righteousness and by deep sympathy and compassion for people. Perfect justice is always safe in Jesus’ hands.

But judging is one area where Jesus’ followers may not follow in his footsteps. Justice isn’t safe with us because our perceptions are almost always skewed by our sin nature. Jesus likened us to someone overlooking a plank in his own eye while trying to get the speck of dust out of his friend’s eye.

“You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Luke 6:42

But those planks tend to keep on getting into our eyes. So it’s better not to judge another person; you can never be sure you aren’t just as guilty as he is. Jesus offered a simple rule to live by:

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2

Taking things a step further, Jesus suggested one other good rule to live by.

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12

A. S. K.

Jesus really encouraged his followers to talk to his Father about their concerns. He knew from experience that the Father loved it when people came to him and asked for things. Jesus asked for things all the time and God didn’t turn him down. The Son believed his Father could do anything and he loved to team up with him in prayer.

In English, the words Jesus used to encourage us to pray were Ask, Seek and Knock. It’s a great acronym: ASK.

Whenever you have a need or a question for God, remember all you have to do is ASK.

“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?” Matthew 7:11

Make Sure You’re Going the Right Way

Jesus warned people not to get on the wrong road in Matthew 7:13-14. The way to righteousness was not the big, easy road. People had to pay attention if they wanted to walk the path as his disciples. And not everyone who thought they were Jesus’ disciples actually were his disciples.

That’s still true today. Lots of people adopt the name “Christian” without ever really following Jesus at all. Jesus explained a simple way for us to make sure we are living our lives the right way.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and put them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock.” Matthew 7:24

Jesus kept things simple for people. It wasn’t hard to apply what he said to life, but it did require that we listen to his words – and put them into practice.