I am a big fan of Monty Python. My younger sister will claim I was obnoxiously obsessed as a teenager. (I really wasn’t that bad.) Every so often an old sketch will come to mind. The other day, a friend posted about a new Gerber knife on Facebook, and it prompted a memory of a favorite sketch: “Self-Defense Against Fresh Fruit”.
Surely, anyone who is culturally informed knows this sketch. This is the one where the men are learning to defend themselves against all manner of fresh fruit, and one guy keeps asking “What about pointed sticks?” Funny stuff.
How much time to we spend learning to defend ourselves against “fresh fruit”—that is, dwelling on the things that matter least? Certainly, we cannot be harmed by “fresh fruit”—except maybe bananas. Nonetheless, we worry. We often worry incessantly about things that are least important in the great scheme of life. “That which does not kill us (e.g. mangos in syrup) makes us stronger” (Friedrich Nietzsche—I added the mangos). The “fresh fruit” with which we are attacked often presents an opportunity for growth. It should be welcomed.
Worry costs us. It is one of the four enemies of faith we learn from Jesus [fear (Matthew 8:26), doubt (Matthew 14:31), anxious care (Matthew 6:30), and human reasoning (Matthew 16:8)]. Worry prevents us from moving. It prevents us from success. It stymies us. Yet, the things about which we worry are often just “fresh fruit” rather than pointed sticks.
We must focus on the things that matter. We must focus our training—our growth plan—on “pointed sticks”.
Carpe momento!