Did you know that if you eat pineapple and drink milk consecutively that you will, in fact, die?
Furthermore, it is one of many dangerous foods for pregnant women to eat. My wife (very obviously expecting our third child) has been asked by fruit sellers, with a note of serious concern in their voices, “Are you buying these pineapples for yourself, or for brother?”
A dangerous thing pineapple. If only we had known.
Now, upon reading that, some of you are immediately shaking your heads and thinking how ignorant and backward people in other countries must be, to believe something that is so obviously false. And they do believe it. In our country it is a common, widespread belief, that tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people believe some in some form.
But the truth is that all of us have odd beliefs like this. Every culture has warped thinking that is as certain to them as the sky is blue, but at which outsiders look in at and scratch their heads, astounded at the blindness. Individuals also have their niche little beliefs that they hold to, that cause their friends to shake their heads and sigh. Friend, believe it or not, you also have some of those beliefs. Pray for good friends who help you to see them!
And that’s part of the bizarre element of this. Other people look on and wonder how such a belief is possible. Did it first arise when once upon a time, in some remote village, somebody’s cousin’s friend once ate pineapple and drank milk, and then died soon thereafter, thus establishing a link? You know, correlation always means causation, right?
Maybe word then spread from town to town. Grandmothers sat their little ones on their knees and warned them of the dangers that befall those who fail to exercise due caution. Soon, perhaps, many believed, and it has been passed down through many generations, never even questioned. As time has gone on, and population has increased, societal norms keep it locked in, held in place, such that to believe otherwise is to set oneself against the flow. Of course one person against millions is wrong.
Whether it’s pineapple, or other foods, child-rearing habits, or what a woman ought to do in pregnancy, we have had our eyes opened to an awful lot of these kind of bizarre, yet deeply entrenched, beliefs in our first term in South Asia. Usually we just listen, and learn, and laugh together in private, (reminding ourselves that Ireland is no different, and that we too probably have strange beliefs to our South Asian neighbours). But occasionally we’ll try to push back a little bit, and see how deep the belief goes, and try to impart some practical wisdom, especially when the beliefs are related to health issues, and my wife (a doctor) wants to advise a better plan of health keeping!
But the explanations of a highly trained medical specialist rarely get the desired result. Some nod their heads and agree, but you can tell that nothing will change. A few humble ones, who recognise their need, will listen to the advice and change their mind. But for most it seems that history, culture and society have so deeply entrenched these ideas in their minds that it’s impossible to think beyond them, even when someone with qualifications comes their way.
How bizarre to live in a world where you can’t by any means convince someone that a pineapple milkshake is ok to drink.
How much more then, the things of God.
In our area Islam holds sway. 900+ years of exposure to Islam has shaped this nation. Communities are bound together by the shared identity of being Muslims. The Islamic calendar gives many opportunities for times of festive celebration, enjoying time with family, rekindling religious fire, and providing an opportune time to devote oneself further to God. With influence from orthodox Saudi Arabia, dress codes are becoming increasingly influenced by strict Islam, such that whenever one walks outside, it is an obvious, ever-present social reality.
From the historical events that have shaped the nation, to the societal norms, the religious rhythm of the day, the week, and the year, and familial pressure, everything reinforces the way that Islam is right. It is the correct path.
That alone is an immense force to be reckoned with. And yet, if you were to but scratch under the surface a little, you would find that for many, especially in rural areas, Islam is a baked-on crust to a Hindu/Eastern religious filling. It is like a Hindu woman clothed in a burqa. It looks like Islam on the outside, but when the rubber hits the road, the real identity is exposed. Thousands of years of animism and Hinduism lie as the foundation upon which Islam built its empire. When someone is sick, Allah may get a quick prayer, but the local folk-religion spiritual man, with his amulets, strange cures, special “breaths”, and his various bottles of “medicine”, is often consulted with as much hope of healing as the God they profess to serve.
With such a fixed foundation of Hinduism/animism, with such an immensely strong building of Islam, not to mention the reality of sin which the flesh indulges in, and the devil who is utterly opposed to the gospel, and is the blinder of hearts, how can one expect to see any change? After all, I can’t even convince someone that pineapple and milk are ok!
Missiology is good. But it’s no changer of societies. Apologetics are good. But as my wife can testify to, facts are often a minute consideration against entrenched realities. These things cannot change one’s mind easily.
In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul reminds us where true power lies. We approach the task with “weakness, and in fear and much trembling” so that our “speech and message were not with plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God.”
He then goes on to remind the Corinthians that, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” For all intents and purposes, it seems a vain task. After all, when the above is what we’re up against, how could it possibly enter someone’s heart?
But then the comfort: “These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit”. It is possible after all! We know it is, for we have somehow received it despite the manifold battle stations set up around our own souls. Man cannot impart this to us, but the Spirit can. And that’s why Paul’s message of Christ and him crucified had to be presented in “demonstration of the Spirit.”
The power of my own reasoning, the work of the flesh to start some great work, the intellect of the mind to win some argument, these can never change a person. I write that, and it seems so absurd, because of how obvious it is. We nod and say, “of course!”
But I know there’s at least one heart that always forgets this, and thinks that somehow I can change someone, by some means, somehow. And then I can’t convince an educated person that pineapple is not a deadly weapon, and I am reminded of the hardness of the human heart, and my impotence to break through it.
A few weeks ago, a dear fellow-worker and I spent an evening praying together for our country of service. And the verse that was on our hearts that night was one that has always been needed, ever since the days of rebuilding Jerusalem, to when the gospel was first proclaimed in Corinth, until now.
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord of Hosts
– Zechariah 4:6
This is the only hope for changed hearts. A reminder which I need daily. And may it be that in the coming age, I may drink milk with my pineapple beside my South Asian brothers and sisters, all of having been changed by his Spirit alone.
Imitators of Those 
Leave a Reply