New Scientific Theory

The sense of smell is much more enjoyable than the sense of taste.

This is a well-researched scientific theory I just made up.

I love to eat. Foods taste great. Yummy.

But smelling is better.

The other day, I made a cup of apple cinnamon tea. When it was heating, I thought, “Wow. That smells like apple pie.” When I drank it, did I have the sensation of a luscious slice of pie? No, it was just tea, with a slight hint of apple.

Have you met people who say, “I love the smell of coffee cooking, but I can’t teach myself to like the taste?” I have.

And I almost understand.

I love coffee, to drink it. Hot and strong, and black, no sugar. Love it.

But I have to admit, when Murray is making a pot of coffee, and I smell the fresh grounds percolating, that grabs my attention much more than drinking it.

Murray sometimes has toast for breakfast. I don’t usually eat breakfast, and I don’t want to. But when I smell the toasting, I think, “Mmm, warm toast with butter. Yummy.”

What about the smell of baking bread? Frying onions? Awww. Wow.

Now I love to eat homemade bread. And I love eating a hamburger with onions, or chili, or fried potatoes with onions. But none of it beats the smell.

My friend Linda pointed out that some things which smell so delicious certainly do not taste that way. Flowers. Expensive French perfume. I love the citric smell of my disinfectant spray in the bathroom, but I sure don’t want to taste it.

I’ve thanked God for years for giving us food to meet our nutritional needs. After all, he could just have chosen to give it all to us in the water we drink. But he chose to grant us the gift of food to meet our body’s needs for growth and continued strength.

I’m starting to think that the gift of smell, while certainly useful for warning us of danger and other practical things—like when a baby’s diaper needs changed—is mainly just a gift of pleasure.

Thank you, Lord.