This story and parable was shared by Ardeth G. Kapp, former president of the General Young Women's Organization
(R.A.Y.A.D.) is an acronymn
for: Righteous Active Youth Aren't
Deceived
|
Once upon a time
there was a little kingdom called Rayad. The tiny
people who inhabited this kingdom were call Rayadites.
They lived happily, sharing and caring about each
other. Life was good to them. There were only a few
things they needed to watch out for; for instance,
chocolate cake or wearing the color red. If any
Rayadite ever ate chocolate cake or wore red, his spirit
would become weakened, and he would care less and less
about himself and the rules of the kingdom.
Also living in this
tiny kingdom was Zynock, an evil person who wanted to
destroy the kingdom and all of the people in it. He
hated for them to be happy and loving, for that made it
harder for him to influence them. He knew what weakened
their spirits and made them easier to capture. But
Zynock also knew that he could not just offer the
Rayadites chocolate cake and have them devour it - they
were not that foolish! Nor could he make the most
wonderful garment in bright red and expect them to wear
it immediately. The Rayadites wanted to be good and
strong. They had promised each other that they would
help and strengthen each other in time of need. So how
could Zynock weaken this people? How could he get them
to succumb to him so that he could destroy them and thus
the whole kingdom?
"Let's see," he
said, "I can't get them to eat chocolate cake right off,
but maybe I can get them to develop a taste for
chocolate."
That's when
chocolate chip cookies were introduced to the kingdom of
Rayad. At first the cookies were ignored and scoffed
at. Then some commercials and billboards were produced
that showed handsome, wonderful-looking Rayadites eating
chocolate chip cookies. And nothing happened to them,
except they became more popular and sophisticated - at
least that's what the message conveyed on the screens
and billboards.
It wasn't long
before a few Rayadites could be seen eating a chocolate
chip cookies every now and then, and they seemed to be
doing fine. They were still loving and caring and
hadn't changed at all - so it seemed. So more and more
Rayadites began eating the cookies. What they didn't
realize was that the portion of chocolate chips in each
cookie had been doubled. They were getting a double
dose of chocolate, disguised in the cookie. You'd hear
phrases like these: "That cookie is really good except
for a couple of places where it tastes pretty chocolatey.
But don't miss the cookie just for those two places.
It's too good a cookie, and you can overlook the
taste." "I heard that one of our friends has eaten a
chocolate chip cookie, and she says it's nothing to be
afraid of. It won't ruin your life if you eat it."
That was true: lives
didn't seem to be ruined by chocolate chip cookies.
Things were pretty much the same as usual. However,
some of the teachers and leaders and parents in Rayad
suggested avoiding the cookies because tastes for
chocolate were being developed.
"Avoid the cookies?"
came the cries of surprise. "What for? What's wrong
with them? They're not chocolate cake! How stuffy can
you get?"
Some who refused to
eat the cookies were even laughed at and made fun of.
Zynock himself started chuckling. He had no idea his
plan would work so well. And Zynock was patient. He
didn't care how long it took to destroy Rayad, just so
it was destroyed.
Chocolate chip
cookies seemed to be moving pretty well. Zynock didn't
worry about the words of caution and counsel from the
leaders, because his commercials and billboards were so
exciting and enticing. He had to make them that way, or
the truth of the leaders would have swayed the Rayadites
away from the cookies.
Now it came time to
introduce a new product of destruction. No, not
chocolate cake, not quite yet. Rather, Zynock began
advertising spice cake, white cake, yellow cake, carrot
cake, any kind of cake but chocolate - but all with
chocolate frosting, rich chocolate frosting. More
commercials, more billboards, a few songs to hum and
sing all day about how wonderful chocolate cake would
be, although they're not eating it - yet! Get them
thinking about it before they will actually succumb.
Then in the kingdom of Rayad, you could hear:
"Have you tried that
yellow cake with chocolate frosting?"
"Well, no. Is it
good?"
"Oh, yes! Granted,
it is chocolatey, but it's not chocolate cake. And it
really doesn't have much more chocolate than those
cookies we've been eating!"
"But the cake
doesn't seem right. I mean, cookies are one thing, but
cake?"
"Ah, come on! The
important thing is the chocolate, and this is no more
than you've already been eating. Everybody's eating
it. You can't pass it up and be the only one left out."
In the meantime, the
songs were subtly strumming away in the background,
singing the praises of chocolate cake. Right, the words
were not good, but the beat and the rhythm were so cool
that many Rayad's listened just for the music. After
all, what can music do?
Zynock began
thinking again: "One thing that strengthens those
Rayadites is when they are together talking to each
other. What can I do about that?" Then he reasoned,
"Well, it's all right for them to be together. In fact,
maybe there is some way I could use their gatherings and
parties for my purposes. Aha! I've got it!"
So parties in Rayad
began changing. Instead of the Rayadites talking to
each other and playing games so they could get to know
one another and share their strengths and talents, a new
trend began. Everyone who was anyone had the new kinds
of parties.
"Have you been to a
party over at our Rayad friend's place yet?"
"No, I haven't."
"You should go.
It's really cool!"
"Oh? What do you
do?"
"Well, it isn't like
any other party you've been to. It's pretty cool. All
you do is go and sit down and watch stuff on the
screen."
"Stuff on the
screen? Like what?"
"Oh, exciting, scary
stuff that's pretty good. There are a few scenes
showing people eating chocolate cake, but no 'biggy.'"
"People eating
chocolate cake? But..."
"Oh, it's not bad,
and besides, there's nothing anymore without a little
bit of that. It's just fun to get together with your
friends."
So Zynock stood back
and watched his plot unfold. "Let's see now. They're
eating chocolate and they're eating cake. They're
listening to songs and watching movies about chocolate
cake. They're becoming weaker and weaker, although
they're not even aware of it yet because they haven't
actually eaten it - yet! They are falling into my
trap! They think their leaders and parents are square
and stuffy. It's very helpful when their friends tell
them what I want them to hear. Friends are my greatest
asset!"
"Hey!" says a friend
Rayadite, "have you seen the latest movie?"
"No," comes the
response. "I thought it was C-rated, for chocolate."
"No, it isn't. It's
R-rated for Red. There's no chocolate in it." And so Zynock continues his plotting - this time a gorgeous garment, but not in red...yet. It's a luscious pink color. |

