The Dozen Donut Diet

And Saul said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, for you have had compassion on me.” 1 Samuel 23:21

There’s a primitive part of my brain that is all impulse and desire, always seeking that which will make me feel good right now: Food, Sex, Drugs. Keeping this primitive brain in check, is the higher functioning area of my brain. When the impulsive part of me wants to eat a dozen donuts, the reasoning, logical part is supposed to intervene and say, Hey, if you want to be healthy, don’t do that. You’ve got goals for tomorrow and eating a dozen donuts today is counterproductive to those goals. This executive functioning part of my brain though, is flawed, sometimes twisting reality to convince me that wrong is actually right. Hey, if you eat the dozen donuts now, then you’ll be really full. You’ll be so sick of eating that you can fast the rest of the day and actually lose weight. Plus, you’ll have the energy to exercise even harder. You could probably get rich selling this new diet – The Dozen Donut Diet. You should definitely eat all the donuts now.

It may be amusing when it comes to donuts, but these cognitive distortions dominate the mind of the one addicted to chemicals. It’s not uncommon for the opioid user to have one last high . . . on his way into treatment. I’ve known those addicted to alcohol who had a couple of shots to calm themselves . . . immediately prior to standing before the judge for their DWI charges. The one who’s addicted knows he (or she) should stop the self-destructive behavior, but he wants it so badly that he convinces himself that wrong is right – that it would be best to continue the very behavior that is killing him.

This is what happened to King Saul in today’s passage. Having disobeyed God, God told Saul that his kingdom would be taken away and given to David. For some time however, Saul remained king and sought to kill David. Some of the Israelites protected David, helping him hide, but in today’s passage, the Ziphites attempted to betray David to Saul. Saul, in turn, blessed them, telling them they were doing God’s will. Saul wanted something so badly that he convinced himself that wrong was actually right. This must be what God wants.

This is a dangerous place to be. When we give in to this kind of thinking, we surrender our last line of defense against our self-destructive appetites, convincing ourselves that the unhealthy is actually good for us. If I look at pornography, it will keep me from having an affair. My wife should be grateful. Daily, if we desire to avoid the disaster of these cognitive distortions, we must interrogate our thoughts before God, honestly holding them up to the light of truth. What do you really want from me God? In doing so, we will understand God’s will, which will set us free . . . if we follow it.