Part 4- Simplicity: Reordering Our Loves Around Jesus

The goal isn’t owning less. The goal is loving Jesus more.  

As we study antidotes to mammon, this article wants to focus on the power of simplicity. Simplicity isn’t about living with the fewest possessions. It isn’t minimalism. It isn’t poverty.

Biblical simplicity is the joyful ordering of our lives around Jesus and the Kingdom of God, freeing us from unnecessary attachments so we can love God and others with an undivided heart.

St. Augustine famously stated that “the essence of sin is disordered love.” Disordered love means we often love less-important things more, and more-important things less, than we ought to. It’s not that our other loves are bad. It’s that we often put them ahead of God, loving created things more than the Creator. And when we do that, we put our own selfish goals ahead of seeking God’s agenda for our lives.  Simplicity is one way to help address this reality.  

Simplicity Begins by Seeking God’s Kingdom First

“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear… But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  – [.no-reftag]Matthew 6:25, 33[.no-reftag]

Notice Jesus never says, “Own fewer possessions.” He says, “Seek first My Kingdom.” The issue isn’t possessions. The issue is priority. Mammon says, “Build your kingdom.” Jesus says, “Seek Mine.”

Every day we are answering one question: what will come first? Our comfort? Our success? Our reputation? Our financial security? Or the Kingdom of God? Simplicity begins when we stop organizing life around ourselves and begin organizing it around King Jesus.

Simplicity Is Learning to Love the Right Things Most

When Jesus visited Martha’s home, she was distracted by all the preparations, while her sister Mary sat at His feet listening.

“Martha, Martha… you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”  – [.no-reftag]Luke 10:41–42[.no-reftag]

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”  – [.no-reftag]Matthew 22:37–39[.no-reftag]

Our problem isn’t that we love too many bad things. It’s that we often love good things more than God: career, children, money, success, comfort, even ministry. Simplicity is allowing God to reorder our loves. When Jesus becomes our greatest treasure, everything else finds its proper place.

Think of the solar system. When the sun is at the center, every planet stays in its proper orbit. When something else takes the center, everything drifts into chaos. The Christian life is learning to put Christ back at the center: not you, not me, not one of our other loves.

Simplicity Is Practiced Every Day

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”  – [.no-reftag]Hebrews 13:5[.no-reftag]

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  – [.no-reftag]John 15:5[.no-reftag]

Simplicity isn’t a one-time decision. It’s a daily practice. Philosopher and author James K. A. Smith has argued persuasively that we become what we repeatedly practice. Our daily habits train our hearts. So how do we practically reorder our loves around Jesus? Scripture points to several practices.

[.text-color-blue]Spend time with the One you want to love.[.text-color-blue] Bible study, prayer, worship. Love grows through relationship, and you can’t love someone you don’t know. The goal isn’t checking a spiritual box. The goal is learning to delight in Christ and getting to know Him.  

[.text-color-blue]Practice saying “no.”[.text-color-blue] Say no to things that consume your attention but don’t deepen your love for God or people. Jesus often withdrew from crowds because His Father’s priorities came first.

[.text-color-blue]Practice saying “yes.”[.text-color-blue] Say yes to things that delight God: serving, giving, praying, creating. We practice gratitude. We give generously. We hold our possessions with open hands.

And we ask every day: “Lord, help me love You more than everything else You’ve given me.”

As our love for Christ grows, the grip of mammon weakens. The goal isn’t simply fewer possessions. The goal is greater freedom: freedom to worship, freedom to love, freedom to serve, and freedom to enjoy God’s gifts without making them our gods.

Closing

Throughout this series we’ve been learning to exchange the story of mammon for the story of God’s Kingdom.

Mammon says: “You need more.”

Jesus says: “I am enough.”

Mammon says: “Build your kingdom.”

Jesus says: “Seek Mine first.”

Mammon says: “Hold tightly.”

Jesus says: “Trust Me.”

Biblical simplicity isn’t about having less. It is about wanting Jesus more. When Christ becomes our greatest treasure, everything else finds its proper place. And that is where true freedom is found.

Questions to Consider

1. If you lost everything except Jesus, would you believe He is enough?
2. If someone looked at your calendar and bank statement, what would they conclude you seek first?
3. What good thing in your life is most tempted to become an ultimate thing?
4. What occupies more of your thoughts each week: building your kingdom or participating in God’s Kingdom?
5. What is one attachment, habit, or pursuit that is quietly competing with your love for Christ, and what will you do about it this week?

Resources:

Scripture: Matthew 6:24–34, Luke 10:38–42, Matthew 22:34–40, Hebrews 13:5–6, John 15:5–8

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