Does anyone know what the most popular item is that Walmart sells? In both the US, and the world?
The Banana!
More correctly, the Cavendish Banana.
It's eaten by more Americans than Apples and Oranges combined.
But did you know that before 1960, the Cavendish was called the "Junk Banana", due to its lack of flavor, being less hardy, and less good for you.
It's also a sterile mutant, the seeds are not able to create a new banana plant. The only way they get more is to use cuttings from existing plants to create new plants.
Before the Cavendish, most everyone ate the Gros Michel.
In the 1960's Panama disease hit and killed 99.9% of the Gros Michel.
Due to that, Banana producers switched to the Cavendish. Once everyone got over the lack of flavor, and the delivery concerns got figured out, it turns out people liked it better, since there was no inconvenient seeds.
Gros Michel seeds
Ever notice that banana flavored candy doesn't taste like the Banana of today? It's actually patterned after the Gros Michel.
When I first learned about all of this, it stuck with me as very interesting. Weirdly, each time I came to church it came back into my mind. I didn't know why it kept coming to mind, though. It finally hit me that this is like what we find with Christians all too often.
I Timothy 4:3-6
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following
How often do people today look for things that are easier, people that teach what they want to hear, instead of look at the Bible for what it really says. Even if we don't see this in ourselves, we can certainly see it in the world today.
Matthew 7:13-16
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits."
Do we want the easy way that is sterile and has dead seeds?
Or do we want the more difficult way that has a more rich flavor and can bear real fruit?
© Vivian P. Kirkpatrick, 2015