Least Common Denominator

Least Common Denominator

Do you consider the fact that you are the least common denominator in all of your challenging situations?  Though the people, setting, and details may change, you remain the one constant.  Whereas the origins of these situations differ, the one undeniable fact is your presence.  In the run of a day, if you have five separate altercations with people, then self-examination is the only reliable solution to resolving those disputes.  My question raises the necessity of evaluating our role in all dealings with people and situations.

Discerning the patterns of our character is critical to personal development and spiritual growth.  I offer a practical definition of sin.  It is choices of patterns of behavior that work against you.  When we willingly engage in destructive behavior, we undermine our potential to actualize our divine and unique abilities.  In turn, those patterns cloak defects of character that prevent us from enjoying the fullness of life.  A friend of mine remains unmarried despite his insistence that he desires a lifelong mate.  However, he has a distinct pattern of discovering, at the sixth-month mark, that the women he dates are “crazy.”  By the fifth woman, it is obvious that something is certainly wrong with his choice of potential wives.  How does he manage to choose a “crazy” person each time?  Are these women really “crazy?”  Perhaps, his pattern conceals an inability to commit to a relationship, a personal insecurity that a long-term relationship would reveal, or a basic desire for sex with as many women as possible.

In this case of my friend, he needs to cease dating and thoroughly examine himself.  He is the least common denominator.  Maybe, he is “crazy” and those women are not.  Until, he finds the willingness and honesty to scrutinize his choices and patterns, he will continue to waste time, money and emotions on ineffective, casual encounters.  Additionally, we cannot ignore the hurt and disappointment that these failures cause in the lives of those “crazy” women.  Nonetheless, unless he defines and reverses his pattern, he stands to impede the realization of a happy and lasting marriage.

A spiritual antecedent is present in all of our problems.  Financial challenges usually involve the need to practice good stewardship.  The lack of self-acceptance and self-love produce an insecurity that prevents good relationships.  Unresolved, deep-seated anger will strain our dealings with others.  Often, people prone to rage “act out” in extremely unproductive ways.  They may become unnecessarily violent.  Thereby, they stand to loose their jobs, the respect of friends and colleagues and possibly their freedom, if they are arrested.  All of these scenarios point to a spiritual vacuum.  As we partner with Almighty God to ascertain the character defects that yield sinful and harmful patterns, He empowers us with the internal strength to eliminate or neutralize those shortcomings.

I strongly suggest PMS as a practical and effective method for overcoming deficiencies of character.  First, prayer is essential.  When we pray, we ask for God’s Spirit to equip us with knowledge, willingness, and determination to resolve any challenges that we face.  (Ephesians 3:20)  Second, meditation enables us to listen to the voice of God.  It is also essential to the process evaluating ourselves to discover the root causes of personal shortcomings.  Reflection reveals the patterns of our choices.  Introspection unearths the root of character flaws.  Practically speaking, we take time to think about the reasons we are the least common denominators of our problems.  Too often, we grasp for the solution without fully knowing the extent of the problem.  Meditation enables us to define clearly and concretely the dilemma.  Third, self-evaluation is more than a theoretical exercise.  It is a rigorously honest appraisal of your mental, emotional and psychological temperament.  Simply stated, it is a frank assessment of one’s motives in any given situation.

The preceding threefold formula is one of the most reliable methods with which to conquer defects of character.  Personal development and spiritual growth necessitate the change of liabilities into assets.  Rather than being the least common denominator within a problem, we strive to become the catalyst for change and growth.