I don't remember anywhere in the Bible that Jesus went out to be alone to pray in the early morning. Hence no mention of coffee! That's not to say that he didn't go out early to pray. I would imagine that in today's setting, Jesus would have a double shot mocha as he did his morning prayers. I know that I need two cups of coffee. One before I do anything and the other just before I write this blog. I drink my coffee black and strong. The stronger the better. I'm one of "those people" who can drink a pot of coffee before bed and still sleep soundly. In the mornings coffee is essential to any kind of functioning. At least for me... To me "decaffeinated" is just another word for "why bother." Coffee serves several purposes in the life of everyone who partakes. Coffee isn't just for adults either. Age, sex, religion, and whatever are all covered. Coffee is that important. Living in the Pacific Northwest (Washington) where there are coffee places about every block to block and a half echo's the importance of coffee. How does this relate to my and your Christian walk? That is the question. Please note that there are no churches that I know of that don't have coffee machines in their kitchens. Even the Seventh Day Adventists drink Barley coffee.
Within the context of a Christian life there is no mandate that you have to drink coffee. I cannot support that it is a mandate with Scripture. Nor can I find any mention that coffee shouldn't be up there on the drink ladder. Kind of like marijuana. There is no prohibition of marijuana like there is no encouragement to use marijuana. Again, there are no mandates for marriage licenses in the Bible but there is no prohibition against marriage licenses. What we do find in the Bible is the direction of Paul stating "all things in moderation." Two cups of morning coffee are okay. Well, truth be told my cups are 2 cups each. So I have 4 cups of morning coffee. That's still okay. If I use the coffee as an excuse to not live out my Christian life, I have a problem. "We are going to be late for church because I have to have my coffee first." Hmm... Anytime we put anything first before Jesus we have a priority problem. Does our focus, use and demand for coffee overwhelm those we are trying to live a Christian life before? Just what does our relationship with anything other than Jesus tell the world around us about us?
I'm not so fixated that I need to select a particular kind of roast and whole bean for me to grind at home for my coffee. Nor do I have to go to a coffee stand because of the quality of their drinks. Folgers is on my counter and that's just fine with me. I've even been known to use store brands before! How does this apply to our lives? Is it enough to see a local high school baseball game when we can go see the Mariners (substitute your favorite team)? Is it enough to watch Pop Warner football and not turn on the Seahawks (again substitute your favorite team) or even miss church for them? Can we be satisfied with local high school soccer and not need the fix of the Sounders FC (substitute...)? Coffee, like everything in our lives, show our priority and our choices of things of this world. Can I live without coffee? Yes, after the headaches go away.
When we consider the importance of things, events and people in our lives; do we consider whether or not they are important to our spiritual well being? Yes, having coffee with a friend whom you want to share Jesus with is okay. No, coffee is not a precursor to sharing Jesus with a friend. We don't even need to have coffee in the church (gasp!) in order to meet with God. Yet, there is no harm and no foul if we do. What I've tried to say today is that we have a lot of areas in our lives that may or may not be lifting up Jesus. The action and not the act is where our need to examine motive lies. I think I'll have another cup of coffee...black.
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