What I learned about sin from potato chips

I recently had the privilege of spending ten days with my husband in Hawaii. It was a great trip in many ways but in some ways it was one of the hardest trips I have ever done, even harder than the three mission trips to third world countries. It was great because I was able to wear a two piece swimming suit with my stomach showing for the first time in more years than I can count. The low carb diet, diabetic medicines and insulin have melted off enough weight that I can be an “uncovered”. You might be wondering what an “uncovered” is so I will explain. When my daughters and I went to Cabo for my fiftieth birthday we stayed at a resort that was pretty much a party resort. We classified the people there as either “uncovereds” meaning they wore tiny string bikinis with almost nothing left to the imagination or they were “covereds” like us who wore suits that showed no more skin than necessary. Actually in Hawaii I was only a semi-uncovered since my two piece suit still left a lot of skin covered but at least my stomach did see some sun! I guess that counts.

The hard part about this trip was the same thing that made it possible for me to become an “uncovered”, the low carb diet. Have you ever gone to a tropical paradise and tried to find something to eat that wasn’t crusted in coconut, dripping with pineapple or papaya, covered in mangos and macadamia nuts? It almost doesn’t exist. Do you know how hard it is to find a restaurant that doesn’t serve a large side of some type of starch as the main portion of the meal? For a former carb addict it was extremely difficult to watch as everyone else enjoyed the fresh tropical fruit and coconut and to smell the French fries, potato chips, rice, fresh baked bread and pastries. How many different ways can you make eggs and not have it all taste the same?

(As I am writing this I am convicted how selfish this sounds. I know there are starving people in the world who would love to know they could have eggs every morning for breakfast. Bear with me though and overlook my selfishness because there really will be a point to this.)

After about ten days of watching my husband and my friends enjoy the bounty of the tropical paradise, nosh on fish and chips every day, enjoy the appetizers at the bar every evening I had had about all I could stand. One morning I couldn’t even make myself go to breakfast with them. I could not gag down one more egg while they were eating macadamia nut waffles dripping in pineapple syrup. I had reached the end of my resistance. My constant exposure to carbs was more than this carb addict could take. That afternoon I ordered a hamburger for lunch and it was served with fresh made potato chips, which was one of my favorite carbs. (Even to write this makes my mouth water.) I fought it for a few minutes but finally I gave in and ate a small handful of chips. My husband looked on in shocked disbelief and tried to take them away from me. Of course, he had a French fry sticking out of his mouth as he was trying to wrestle my chips away. I realized at that moment what it is like to willfully sin, to know the right thing to do, the thing that is best for you, but to willfully choose to do what is not good for you and has the potential to do significant harm. In that moment it didn’t matter, long term consequences were the farthest thing from my mind. All I wanted was the momentary satisfaction of eating those chips. I feel a little silly writing about this but it was such a vivid picture of sin in our lives I felt I needed to share it. God showed me several things through this experience.

1. If you put yourself in situations where you are tempted to sin, one day in a weak moment, you will probably sin. Willpower only lasts so long and you can only be so strong. Potato chips taught me how weak my self control can be when overwhelmed and tired. I am well aware of the consequences of uncontrolled diabetes. My grandmother lost both of her legs from complications of this disease yet I wanted what I wanted when I wanted it, even at the cost of my health….or legs. How many times do we put ourselves in situations we know could cause us to stumble and we allow ourselves to be tempted, often beyond what we can withstand? How often do we choose momentary pleasure or satisfaction even when we know it has the potential for some serious, long term consequences? Our good intentions are no match for the lure of the forbidden.

2. We can lead people into sin by the things we bring into their lives or putting them in situations where they are tempted. My husband felt almost worse about the potato chip incident than I did because he realized how careless he had been in selecting the places we ate and eating “forbidden food” so freely in front of me. Do you consider the needs of your brother or sister and what things might cause them to stumble? Are you someone who helps them fight a good fight or are you someone who brings temptation into their lives because it isn’t a problem for you? If so, are you really a friend?

3. It is much easier to live the life you were intended to live when you keep yourself separate from the things in the world that are snares for you. At home, I don’t keep anything in the house that I can’t eat, temptation is almost non-existent. Any passing food craving is quickly dispelled. The time and trouble it would be to go to the store gives me the time and space to fight the craving or find something I can eat that will satisfy my hunger. I also don’t feel deprived or like I am missing something when I eat at home. I have several great cookbooks adapted for this diet which allow me to enjoy a large variety of foods and satisfy my need for different tastes. It is only when I go to the grocery store or go out to a restaurant that I am reminded of all the things that are forbidden on this diet. This reminder can quickly send me into victim mode and start the food cravings. My focus quickly turns from all the good things I can eat to all the things that I can no longer have. I can very easily lose sight of all the benefits of eating this way and can see only the things I am missing. This sounds like an endorsement for living a sanctified life to me. If we constantly expose ourselves to things we shouldn’t be around like foul language, R and X rated movies, pornography, racy TV shows, drugs, alcohol, unhealthy relationships or whatever else causes us to stumble, we begin to look more like the world and less like a reflection of Jesus. The pull of the world and all it offers is so powerful that it can quickly change our focus and where we are focused is the path we will take. I understand why Paul gave so many warnings about the things of the world and the harm that they do to our walk and ultimately our witness.

I am happy to report that the small handful of chips I ate that day didn’t send my blood sugar through the ceiling nor did I become a hardcore carb addict again. I have only stumbled a few times since then and am still firmly resolved to follow this diet. My husband is paying much more attention about his diet and what he eats around me and where he takes me out to dinner. We both learned some valuable lessons that day on the beach in Hawaii about potato chips…..and sin.