The Lowest Common Denominator

I. Introduction

I have never been a math person…there’s a reason I teach on the social studies hall. My brain just doesn’t work like that....but as I have gotten older, I have come to appreciate certain forms of math a little bit more.

For example, I have created a lot of forms on Microsoft Excel spreadsheets that do a lot of things for me…I’ve made them calculate grades very quickly for my kids so I don’t have to sit there witha calculator and do certain percentages....it has made my life just a little bit easier at work.

But one thing I was never good at was figuring out problems with multiple fractions…I understand fractions....I know what 1/2 means....3/4 quarters....that sort of thing....but when it comes to adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing fractions, my brain just sort of turns to mush, honestly.

So, I do try to brush up on my math once in a while, believe it or not....and one concept about fractions that I do sort get is this idea of the lowest or least common denominator.

So....if you remember from school…when you have fraction, you have a piece of a whole number…you have a “fraction” of it....so you have two numbers written one over the other, like so....the top numberis the numerator and the bottom number is the denominator....simple enough....when you have two fractions with the same denominator, that’s easy to do.

3/4 + 1/4 = 4/4 = 1…a whole. Easy right?

Well, where we hit a problem is when you have different denominators like this one....3/4 over 2/3....doesn’t compute....those fractions aren’t compatible if you will....so we have to get common denominators in order to compute this one....that is, the lowest number on the bottom that both bottom number will go into....

And, as it turns out....the lowest number both 4 and 3 will go into…is what, class? 12!

4 by 3 gets us to 12....so you multiply the top by 3 also…and you get 9/12. For 2/3…3 by 4 gets us to 12, and that means 4 by 2 gets us to 8. Now we have common denominators and we can move forward.

Now…what’s any of that got to do with our message for today?

We often refer to situations where people don’t want to deal with the real issue at hand as dealing with the lowest common denominator. Why? Because, as you just saw in math, the lowest common denominator as simple as it gets. And, while that’s a good thing in math, in life…and in matters of faith, it’s not always good....it’s what we call OVERsimplifying things. It’s the kind of folks that can’t see the forrest for the trees.

Well Jesus often had to deal with people like this…and we’re about to read about one such interaction here.

a. Scripture: Mark 10:1-12

I’m going to ask you to stand with me, if you are able, as we read from God’s Holy, Perfect, Sufficient and inerrant Word.

<Pray>

Thank you, and you may be seated.

II. Major Points

That’s Not the Point

Legal Don’t Mean Holy

III. Point #1: That’s Not the Point

Explanation

Now this section of Scripture is very often called the divorce passage. And normally preachers like to take this passage and beat people over the head who have had a divorce....but just like the Pharisees here talking to Jesus, those guys simply didn’t understand. You see they were more interested in the law about divorce than they were the reason the law was put there to begin with.

Between the Pharisees who were legalistic and overanalytical and the Sadducees who were more worldly and rejected the miracles and the power of God, they all had questions for Jesus....but their questions were never genuine. They were always trying to entrap Jesus and get him to say something that would get Him into trouble.

So here is Jesus and He is teaching…and He likely wasn’t talking about marriage…or divorce or anything even related to that....and here come the Pharisees and they interrupt Jesus and ask this question about if it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife.

Jesus responds with a question…He says “what does the law say? What did Moses tell you?”

They repeated what the law said…which was basically, yes, get a document signed ending the marriage and then yes, part ways.

And then Jesus says someting very interesting here: He says…you know, the reason that this law even exists, is because of the hardness of your hearts.

Jesus says, you know God’s design was for marriage to be permenant…for a man and a woman to get married, start their own family unit....and become one flesh....and they weren’t supposed to separate…that was God’s design.

And here are the Pharisees wondering what the LAW said instead of what God intended and why the law on this even existed. They were oversimplifying this thing....they were focused on the lowest common denominator.

Illustration

Several years ago I was chaperoning at the Prom for work. And I know I don’t listen to a lot of what the younger folks listen to…but I am telling you....some of that garbage they were listening to was…to say the LEAST: explicit. I mean....it was disgusting…not just bad language, but what it was describing, in detail....I mean, I’ll be honest with you, it was down right pronographic. I’m serious, I’ve hard to bad music in my life, but that stuff was filthy, I honestly felt like I needed a bath after listening to it, and I wasn’t only one.

After a song or two of that, one of the administrators went over to the DJ that the kids’ parents had hired and asked him to clean the music up. This kid, was like 21, 22 years old....had been hired to drive from Atlanta somewhere to come down and provide music at this Prom....and he kept right on with the dirty music…so finally, principal goes back over…and says “Guys, I’ve already asked you once, clean up the music or you can pack up your stuff and go.”

This kid responds, and this is the honest truth: he says “but you asked us to clean up the music and we didn’t play that same song again.”

So in his little peanut brain....he thought “clean up the music” meant “Oh, don’t play that one song any more...”

Again....That’s…not…the point…amen?

Application

You see…when the Pharisees asked about the law....they were concerned about what they were “allowed” to do in the law....not what God’s standard is.

Jesus explains that God’s standard is MUCH higher than just getting a document from the government saying you aren’t married anymore....

Jesus is saying that God’s standard is to marry somebody, stay married, stay faithful, and love that person. And here the Pharisees are scratching their heads like “what?” If that’s God’s standard, why did Moses allow for divorce?

You see church, they didn’t get it. Jesus is really saying: STOP ASKING WHAT YOU’RE ALLOWED TO GET AWAY WITH AND START ASKING WHAT GOD DESIRES FROM YOU.

In other words, they were focused on the lowets common denomintor: what we’re allowed to do.

Church: Sometimes…we get all caught up on what we should and shouldn’t do in life…and we forget to ask: God....what do you want me to do?

God…what is YOUR standard?…not the lowest commond denominator....

Instead of asking “God, what can I do to day and get away with it without making you mad?”....why don’t we ask “God…what would please you in my life today?” “How can I serve YOU better?”

Church: Let’s not focus so much on the details that we miss the spirit....let’s not focus so much on the trees that we miss the forrest.

There people here who have been through the pain of divorce....and it hurts. But instead of focusing on the fact that certain marriages represented here have ended for WHATEVER reason, let’s focus on strengthening the marriages that we have currently have. The Pharisees were all focused on punishing people who got a divorce....why don’t we focus on helping families in this church get stronger and healthier.

Because that’s what God really wants: strong families…healthy, godly families....not to beat everybody over the head that went through a divorce. That’s what the Pharisees want…to focus on the small thing rather than what God wants....they missed the point, amen?

IV. Point #2: Legal Don’t Mean Holy

Explanation

Another thing I want you to see here is the disparity between something that is legal and something that is right. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s pleasing to the Lord.

The Pharisees were focused on the fact that a condition was made by Moses in the law that a person could get a divorce from their spouse. It never seemed to have occurred to them that just because it’s allowed by the law doesn’t mean that it is pleasing to the Lord.

Illustration

Folks, there are tons of laws that are on the books and have been on the books that allow things that are not necessarily right. For instance, it was common practice and legal in this country for over 150 years for a human being to own another human being and I’ve got news for you: it still exists today. All over the world there are woman and especially children stolen from their families or even worse sold BY their families into sex slavery, or what we call human trafficking. It happens at our border with Mexico every single day.

Thankfully, that is illegal in this country today....but there was a time when it was legal.

Legal doesn’t mean it’s right...

Application

And you know something church, I want to just tell you two things today; 1. If you are like these Pharisees and you are more concerned about whether something is legal with the government than you are about whether it is pleasing to God, you got bigger problems than the fact that your marriage might be falling apart....your priorities are ALL out of whack!

2. God wants to focus on your heart....He wants to focus on the “why.” Because while getting a divorce makes the Lord unhappy because He designed marriage to last for life....that was His intention. So rather than focusing on the “what” and the “when” about a marriage busting up, let’s look at the “why” and the “how”....and then let’s look at your current situation and try not to let that happen again, amen?

Remember something church: God is your Heavenly Father....He’s not some cosmic meany up in the clouds ready to throw a lightening bolt at you just because you made a mistake....but....he does have His standards....He doesn’t want your marriage to break up....if it’s salvagable at all…He desires you to honor your vows and make it work....

Is it always easy? No…life in relationships isn’t always easy because people are complicated and people disagree sometimes…what matters is how you handle it.

As Adrian Rogers once said, the biggest problem in marriages today is selfishness....it’s self-centeredness.

Jesus gave us the ultimate example in how to have a successful marriage in that he sacrificed Himself for the church....the church is His BRIDE.

Successful marriages have two people that focus on serving and loving one another rather than constantly trying to get their own way all the time.

Most of the problems that we have as husbands and wives are not really over disagreements....they’re over ego.

Adrian Rogers said “There are no problems too big to solve, just people toop small to solve them.” And folks the problem is that we are so full of rotten pride that rather than attacking the problem we attack one another....because we are celfish by nature and we are so full of pride and we want to be RIGHT. We want to WIN....But when two people who love one another fight, nobody wins. Not really.

Communication breaks down…and we hurt somebody we are supposed to love.

That’s where it all starts....we make our partner into our enemy.

V. Conclusion

a. Let’s focus on Holiness…instead of what’s allowed....or what’s ok....or “what are MY rights?”....or any other selfish notion.

Let’s focus on the HIGHER calling to love one another…and to do right by one another....rather than focusing on the small thing....the lowest common denomintor. :

b. Let’s Pray