Thursday, September 18, 2008

Dorito Brain Damage

Leaving ocean waves behind today to discuss brain waves. And yes, me wants to discuss Doritos.

Ahhhhhh, Doritos...I used to eat 'em by the handfuls after school as a kid. I would start with one, and before I knew it, half the bag was gone. It never seemed to be enough. I wasn't hungry for more, but my taste buds wanted more, ya know?

Even today, the crunch, the munch, the absolute glorious taste of a Dorito chip overwhelms me. I can't eat them often, because as a person with hypothyroid AND as a former binger set free, I can only allow myself these fattening, unhealthy pleasures sparingly.

Yesterday was that day. Oh myyyyyyy, were them goooooood. Cool Ranch too. Yummers. But ya know, with each chip, the thing I noticed was that I couldn't keep from eating one more. "Okay," I would tell myself, "just oooone more, and that's it." I started to get frustrated, because my tongue didn't feel satisfied, but my tummy did, so I kept tossin them in...even tried letting one melt in my mouth to absorb the flavor. Bleck! Not a good idea.

After I finally got sick of the goopy, powdery flavoring on the top, I stopped. I shoved the bag as far away from me as possible and walked away, as if I were putting down a gun or something: "(((EXCUSE ME, PUT-THE-WEAPON-DOWN)))" may as well of been blaring from a loud speaker in my kitchen with red lights and sirens going off.

That's when it dawned on me. I finally figured out why you can't ever eat just a few Doritos. First of all, I have brain damage from all of the Doritos I ate as a kid. More importantly, I figured out their lil secret. They taste good when they first hit your tongue, (I guess it's all the salty, goopy, powdery flavoring on the top), but there is an icky aftertaste, so it makes you want the next one to have the yummy taste again. Make sense? Pretty soon you're shoveling them in one right after the other so you don't have the aftertaste at all.

So no more. I'm reversing the brain damage caused from the Dorito maker's addiction scheme. I'm saying "no" to them.

Because I can't help but make an analogy out of almost everything, I have to say that Doritos are a lot like sin. Often it tastes good at first...but it always leaves a bad aftertaste. And if a Christian gets to the point where she is just sinning one right after the other in order to avoid the aftertaste, well, some real damage is occurring. She'll eventually have to hear, "Put the bag down and put your hands up," if you know what I mean. Each and every day, we need to examine our lives for sin. When we do so, we'll probably find some. Then we confess it, we toss it to Jesus and put our hands in the air, knowing He is the only One who can cleanse us from it. Ask Him to help you see it coming and avoid it, say "No" to it.

Unconfessed sin brings about heart damage. It puts a wedge between you and an abundant relationship with the Lord. And that's scarey, because first of all, He is the Lord, and He is holy. But second of all, He is the only One who can truly give us the kind of fruit we need to live a victorious Christian life.

The Lord is the real deal. Yes, He tastes so good, it makes us want more, but He completely satisfies our longings in the process. Don't try to substitute Him for that person, that place or that thing. Lift up your hands and praise the Lord.

Psalm 63:4-5 (NLT)
I will praise You as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to You in prayer.
You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise You with songs of joy.


In the Key of HE,

15 friends shared a comment:

Tracy said...

Mmm, Dorito's... I used to eat a lot of them too. And like you, if I get my greedy little hands on them it's hard to stop, but... I guess I just don't naturally gravitate toward them as much any more. Hopefully I'm getting better at not gravitating toward sin as much too! Great post! Blessings!

Gigi said...

Ugh...why couldn't I have read this BEFORE I ate that "way more than I should have" serving of jalapeno potato chips??

Another fantastic analogy Laura Lee. Time after time you hit the proverbial nail smack dab on the head!

Kathryn said...

Spot on, LauraLee! I love that analogy.

Instead of trying to cover the bitter aftertaste, let us instead sample the Lord's delights:

"Taste and see that the LORD is good ..." (Psalm 34:8)

"How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth." (Psalm 119:103)

Momma Roar said...

Yep, I love doritos too!

What a great analogy though - so true!

Laurie Ann said...

Love Dorito's, too!

Great devotion and great anaology, LauraLee. Awesome post all the way around.

Kristen Schiffman said...

This is SO TRUE! Doritos are addictive. lol. I've always thought it and now, thanks to your investigation, I know why.

Great analogy. You always capture my attention.

Kim @ Homesteader's Heart said...

Girl you crack me up. You can make an analogy out of anything! You know what my weakness is? Cape Cod Salt and Vinegar chips. We only get them when going on vacation which isn't often so I don't get them much.*sigh*.
Blessings my sister friend.
P.S. You saw what I got out of that lol. I need help I tell ya! Now I want chips. Maybe I should go reread the last part!LOL! Ugh!

Joanne Sher said...

What an amazingly relatable and accurate analogy! If sin DIDN'T "taste good" to start, it sure would be easier to resist, wouldn't it? I'll remember this one.

Meadow said...

Come visit my blog for a surprise!


I love doritoes but if I eat too many they make me sick to my stomach.. blah. Chocolate on the other hand...

Patty Wysong said...

What an EXCELLENT analogy, LaLee!! One that I can REALLY relate to! LoL
Huggles!

Kathy C. said...

That was fantastic Laura Lee - great analogy once again. Obviously you are gifted in that area. :)
Um,...I never was big into Doritos, but I did use to have a major weakness for Cheese puffs, melt in your mouth, then pop in another...over and over... Yup, I'm feelin' your pain girl. :)

Carmen said...

LauraLee,
Thank you for your kind comments on the H.U.G.S. article!

love your site...and i love Doritos, too.

Stacy said...

Fantastic! You had me drawn in with the first line, craving something salty! Ugh...it is so hard sometimes to say no to something you "think" you want but "know" you don't need. I am trying so hard to think about what I need and know before acting or speaking, sometimes even my thoughts get me in trouble. Thankfully we have an all loving forgiving God because I have reached for "Dorito's" more often than I care to admit. Blessing to you for making me think!

Josh said...

Sin can be enjoyable. After all, why would we even want to sin if it didn't bring us a bit of pleasure when we do it? However, the aftertaste is horrible, and it can damage us in far worse ways than we could ever imagine. A tiny bit of pleasure for years of pain and suffering is not a good trade-off. I've been there and I know what it is like. Not fun at all.

I've never been hooked on Doritos, but I do love Ruffles. Time to put the bag down. LOL.

Betsy Markman said...

I love your way of looking at life!

Now if only someone could figure out a way to make chocolate have a bad aftertaste...

Then again, no. Don't.

:-)