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The King's Army
Once upon a time
A powerful and generous King
Had a magnificent kingdom.
The King loved his subjects
And provided for their every need
And much, much more.
It had even been reported
That once the King allowed his own son
Whom he loved dearly
To suffer a cruel and shameful death
In order to deliver his people from an impending disaster.
But the King had an enemy
Who, although not as powerful as the King,
Was strong and cruel and hated the King
And sought to do much harm
To the King's subjects.
Sometimes the King's enemy succeeded
In killing some of the King's people
Or taking them captive
Or destroying their peace and happiness.
And so the King, who was also very wise,
Organised his people into an army
So that they could defend themselves against the King's enemy
And take back those of their number
Who had been kidnapped.
Because the King loved his people
He equipped his army with the very best that money could buy
Powerful weapons that the enemy could not resist
Strong and capable leaders
Who had been trained by the very King himself
And everything that they needed to supply and support the troops.
The King's subjects loved being the King's own army
They loved to wear the uniforms
To display the powerful weapons
To march and sing battle songs
To meet in the well-appointed barrack rooms
To be trained by the very best instructors
And to play war games on the shooting range.
The only problem was
That the King's army
Enjoyed being the King's army
So much
That they didn't go to war.
One day a unit of young soldiers
Was out on a training mission
When, away in the distance,
They heard a commotion.
Being young and inexperienced
They went to investigate
And there they discovered
Some troops belonging to the King's enemy
Taking some of their own townspeople captive.
The King's solders were infuriated
They looked at the enemy troops
They looked at their neighbours
And friends
And relatives
Who were being taken prisoner by the enemy
And they looked at the powerful weapons that the King had given them
And without even thinking any more about it
They attacked the enemy troops
And won the battle
And set free their neighbours
And relatives
And friends.
And suddenly these soldiers of the King realised
That they had been called
And equipped
And commissioned
Not just to be the King's army
But to actually engage the King's enemy
And to take back those
Who had been taken captive by him.
And so they continued fighting the King's enemy
Advancing further and further
Even into the enemy's own territory
Seeking to release their neighbours
And friends
And relatives
Who had been taken captive by the enemy.
Because they were young and inexperienced
They didn't always win every battle
Sometimes they were injured
And sometimes they were tired
And sometimes they needed to repair and replace their weapons
And sometimes they just needed time out
From the noise and stress of the battle.
And so these solders of the King
Sent a messenger back to the King's people
To tell them of the battle
And the enemy
And the danger
And the toil
And the pain
And the weariness
And of the tremendous joy
In seeing their own people being set free
From the power of the enemy.
But the King's subjects weren't interested in the battle
"It is dangerous", they said
"Surely our King, who loves us so much,
Wouldn't want us to risk our lives out there".
"Besides", others argued, "The King has given us
Magnificent barracks
And training centres
And recreational facilities
And hospitals
Right here in the city
Surely he wouldn't expect us to leave these all behind
To go looking for some enemy out in the mountains".
Others said that they really would like to help
Only that they didn't think they had enough training yet
Or they weren't sure that their weapons were powerful enough
Or that since the King hadn't personally told them to go
They weren't sure that they were really the right people for the job.
And so the messenger returned empty handed
And the loyal soldiers fought on alone
And the King heard about it
And was very, very sad.
 
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