Vader’s Baking

by MW Cook

I just got a pretty slick shirt:


You know what I like about the shirt? It’s completely true. Remember when Luke Skywalker asked Yoda if the Dark Side was actually stronger than the Light? Yoda said, “No, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.”

The Dark Side is not stronger. The Shadow does not have more power than the Light. What the Dark Side has is hype and a great public-relations outfit. But at the end of it all, Vader’s got nothing to offer but cookies. All your struggles, if they are not for the Light, will yield only temporary yummies. Only in the Light is there true enlightenment, satisfaction and joy. A lot of times it’s hard to believe that, maybe because following the Light and living in the Light is so much harder than the Dark. Maybe it’s because we can related better to the Shadow through the taint on our hearts. But the Shadow will always kill us in the end. You notice that Vader was only able to become one with the force after he let himself die and become Anakin again. And when the Emperor died what happened to him? The built-up Shadow and Darkness in him ripped his body apart and he became nothingness. Because ‘nothing’ is what the Dark Side really is.

So follow the Light. Get to know the Light. You may not get cookies, but Jesus’ baking beats Vader’s any day.