Parents, Like moths to a flame! As a teen, when I got my driver’s license, I used to drive right by the Krispy Kreme doughnut store a few times a week after “studying” at a friend’s house after swim and/or musical practice. It also happened to be conveniently located right across the street from my home church. Whenever the “HOT DOUGHNUTS NOW” sign was illuminated, I was drawn in like a super magnet to the heart-attack-in-a-warm-sugar ring-on-the-bottom-box, fried dough, making mother ship. It was fun watching the dough plop into the fat to fry, flip, fry some more, then get carried around the conveyor to be smothered in liquid sugar and picked up with a chopstick and put into my white box to let the fat and sugar ooze off to be eaten later. My car seemed to drive itself into the parking lot. Krispy Kreme always had the special, buy one dozen and get the second half price… so, of course, I had to “think of my parents and sister” and make sure they had some fresh deep fried, sugary, all melt-in-your-mouth goodness! And of course I also had to have one of those small milk “chugs” they sold from the refrigerated display to wash them down. My intentions were good to save some for my family, but in the 15 minutes or so driving back to my house I had usually slurped down a dozen of them, like sweet doughy oysters in a food eating contest and started on the second box. Sugar was all over my mouth and car, the tiny baby napkins did nothing to keep the sticky yumminess off of the steering wheel regardless of how many came out of the little shiny dispenser boxes with a spring behind them to push them forward, and you ended up with a hand full. Then before school the next morning, I would warm up the rest for breakfast with a tall glass of milk… occasionally there would be a doughnut left for my family. Why do we do this?! The writer of Proverbs warns us, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. Proverbs 26:11 (NIV) I was probably self medicating the complex stresses of being a teenager. There is actually scientific evidence that we are drawn toward fatty, sugary foods under stress and they trigger a part of the brain that rewards us with a little dopamine that makes us feel better… temporarily. (For some reason, I couldn’t figure out why I kept having reflux at night and headaches at school from the sugar crash mid-morning…)
There is good news for us… we don’t have to keep medicating with dozens of Krispy Kreme doughnuts or other not great for you stuff that makes us feel better for a moment but brings harm and even shame in the long run… this list can be long for me! Most of the unhealthy things we consume, whether food, drink, or activities usually end up consuming us... making us slaves to having more. Peter reminds us who we are and we aren’t slaves anymore to the HOT DOUGHNUTS NOW sign or whatever the particular trigger is for us. When we belong to Jesus and His people, we don’t have to return to the folly of our own personal dysfunctional habit mother ship to medicate, we are now free to enjoy God’s Joy and give it out freely to others who are hurting and needing some dopamine too. Peter says, “Since Jesus went through everything you're going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want. 1 Peter 4:1-2 (MSG) As we connect to God, we can begin to think, act, and become like Jesus. So, the next time you feel like you need a couple of dozen doughnuts or whatever, try stopping hanging out with Jesus and letting Him remind you of who you are now. We also need to connect to some people who act like Jesus and can gently remind us to do the same and we return the favor when needed.
Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!
