The Recipe
Posted in Parables on July 23rd, 2003There was once a recipe found that was believed to have been written by the master chef. It was said to contain the ingredients for the greatest meal ever made. Should one experience this recipe in its fullness, the dish would be palatable, nutritious, and satisfy hunger forever. Since this recipe was written in various places and took many years to complete, some of its ingredients were difficult to gather without being aware of the environments whence they came. Since few persons understood what the recipe was really about, many of them isolated individual ingredients, added some ideas and shared it with others as if it were part of the recipe. Still others had their own idea of what the final meal should taste like, so they presented the recipe in such a way that made it seem as though the original ingredients actually supported their own ideal meal. Amidst the confusion, there were some learned in nutrition that provided a better understanding of many of the ingredients, although they didn’t believe the meal to be a reality. Thousands of restaurant chains were set up across the world. Each claimed they followed the recipe the closest, had a better understanding of the recipe than the other restaurants, or understood the master chef’s true intentions. As a result, many strange meals were served across the world based on each restaurant’s application of the ingredients. There were restaurants that produced a fairly good meal and benefited many. However, there were more restaurants that served dishes not beneficial for their customers; many became ill, went mad, and some even died from the bad food. Now few people believe the recipe had any significance at all.