Long John Silver's: A Cautionary Tale

I’ve noticed a trend in my life.  Every six months or so, I happen to be driving by a Long John Silver’s fast food restaurant, and I think to myself, “Hey, fried fish sounds good.”  Immediately, an epic battle begins in my mind.  The rational part of my brain kicks in and says, “Josh, eating fried fish from a fast food restaurant never ends well--it never tastes as good as you think it will, and within minutes of your last bite, you inevitably develop a nausea that will long outlast any pleasure you get from eating it.”  I know this is true, but the physical appetite part of me, counters with, “but think of the beauty of all that grease, think of how quickly and smoothly it slides down your gullet, think of the immediate satisfaction you will receive.”

So I get it.  I pull through the drive-through and order a combo meal:  one piece of fish, one piece of chicken some fries, two hush, puppies, and, of course, some fried batter crispies.  The fish and the chicken are somehow indistinguishable from each other in both taste and texture, the hush puppies and French fries are over-fried and taste stale.  I burn through several napkins wiping grease off my fingers between bites, and by the end, I can’t even touch the batter crispies for fear that I will vomit.  The nausea has set in and will stay with me for the rest of the night.

I think of Paul, in Romans chapter 7: “ I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep doing.”

Maybe someday, I’ll learn that the part of me that demands immediate gratification is a habitual liar.  The things it promises are never delivered, and the consequences of obeying it are always unpleasant.  Score one for the Bible.  It turns out again that the Word of God holds true when it speaks about these things.  Perhaps I won’t be so easily deceived next time.  Hey, look!—a Long John Silver’s restaurant!  That actually sounds pretty good . . .