| Biodiversity is a word we use
in many areas of our life. It extends to areas and disciplines
far beyond biology, creation, and mangos. The concept of diversity
extends to apples. Though they don’t look like or even taste
like mangos, a kind of diversity began here. When I was younger,
there was a tremendous debate about apples. Some people swore
that Red Delicious was better than Macintosh. Others swore that
IBMs were the best. Some people swore the way to Enlightenment
was through eating an apple. Today, most of the world thinks they
have moved beyond apples. Today we are worried about GM foods
(genetically modified). Today we build millions of cul-de-sacs,
but all the houses look alike. We breed cattle and dogs and fish
all to fit our expectations of what is our “ideal type”
for that species. Our institutions spend much of their time boxing
people to make them fit a certain format, style, or doctrine.
Our churches mouth a concept of diversity and inclusiveness but
to be a member, the jots and tittles come long before presenting
the Message.
Creativity requires diversity. Diversity encourages study, reflection,
and growth. I’ve been a PC(USA) member most of my life and
a PC(USA) missionary for much of it. I work in community development,
which includes agriculture. Some of the finest churches I’ve
attended were small groups of Christians meeting under a mango
tree. Sometimes there were a few rickety benches; sometimes even
a songbook or a lantern. Always there was a Bible.
It is under a mango tree we do much of our work: group meetings,
leadership development, teacher training, and Bible studies. It
is mid-June. The favorite mango is just coming into season. If
the big institutions have their way, soon this would be the only
mango season. It’s not that they despise biodiversity; it’s
just that they don’t care to deal with it. “The people
have requested our mango,” they rightfully claim. It’s
easier to package and ship “our” mango to the cities
and abroad. Our mango sells for a better price and tastes better.
Right. Right. And, right.
But God loves diversity. Once all the other varieties that flower
under different conditions or at different times are replaced,
we will loose diversity. And after these “different,”
less valuable, non-standardized examples are eliminated, who will
miss them. In Haiti that’s an easy answer. Haiti’s
favorite mango produces about three months of the year. With the
other non-conformist varieties, mango season lasts more than thrice
as long. During the season, mangos represent 60 percent of the
calories consumed by the rural poor. The rich, who have access
to apples and other fruits, will never miss the fruits of diversity.
It is the poor who always suffer, especially when institutions
make self-serving decisions.
Perhaps the biggest mango tree, the “mango fil” it’s
called, is the one variety most frequently found in schoolyards
and churchyards and meeting sites. If institutions get their way,
all will some day be scalped, grafted, and turned to a more palatable
fruit. And only the poor will remember the “good ole days,”
the days when diversity fed them. And sadly, this story extends
far beyond mangoes.
When you see children throwing stones at a mango tree,
you know it is bearing fruit.
A Haitian proverb
Rodney and Sharyn Babe
The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
250 |
