When Rainer and Geiger concluded their study of 1,077 individuals, they learned that they needed simplicity in four areas.

Time. This theme was present in all of the areas, but it was a theme unto itself as well. Those surveyed wanted simple so that they could find time for the areas of their lives that really mattered.

Relationships. Many respondents struggled with balance in relationships. The simple life for them meant more opportunities for closer relationships.

Money. Financial strains were pervasive with many in this study. They longed for a simple life free of past-due bills, limited income, deficient savings, and increasing debt.

God. These people, above all, saw a big void in their relationship with God. Aware of the irony that they were too busy for God, they longed for a simpler life to get closer to Him.

We know we can’t replicate all Jesus did. But we can pattern our lives after him. He kept his focus on what really mattered and managed his time accordingly. And so should we.

Read the following Scripture passages and identify ways Jesus spent his time.

Matthew 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

Matthew 12:1  At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them.

John 7:33  Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me.

Read the following Scripture passages and record the ways Jesus place priority in relationships.

Matthew 19:13-14  Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Mark 6: 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

John 3:22  After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.

John 11:5  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

Read the following Scriptures passages and describes Jesus’ attitude toward money.

Matthew 6:24  “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Matthew 21:12  Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.

Matthew 26:6-10  While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”  Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

Mark 12:41-44  Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Read the following Scripture passages and identify ways Jesus placed priority on his relationship with his father.

Matthew 6:6  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 14:23  After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone

Matthew 19:29  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[a] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

Matthew 26:36  Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

Mark 1:35  Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Mark 6:46  After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

Look through the verses again. They are grouped under the categories of time, relationships, money, and God. As you read them again, think about in what other areas the verse may apply.

From these verses, what lesson from Jesus’ dealings with time, relationships, money, and God can you apply in your ow life?

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