Christians and Coffee

Introduction

I don’t drink much coffee. Let’s get that out of the way now. I don’t like the taste of it. When I do have the occasional cup I put so much cream and sugar in it that the progression of changing color reminds one of certain thrilling pop-singers.

I’m not addicted to the stuff. But some people out there are. In fact, most of those people wouldn’t even deny it! On the contrary, they are the first to boast about their addiction (in a joking tone of course). Phrases like, “I’m not myself til my first dose!” and “Cup number four is when I really settle in for the day,” are common to the morning shift at the office.

Let’s narrow the field now. How many Christians do you know who fit into this category? My answer: Too many.

I work at a seminary and attend a Bible college. There are multiple industrial-sized coffee-makers at both establishments. Three Keurig’s are lined up in a row in the college bookstore and most of the professors have one in their office.

The Problem

Now, I’m not going to say that drinking coffee is a sin, but I will say that being addicted to coffee, and drinking too much coffee, is. Here’s the phrase that people won’t like: Too many Christians drink too much coffee far too often.

How do I defend such a statement? Based on the writing so far, you would think I equate coffee with porn, heroin, or tequila! Believe me, I know that the health problems from consuming too much coffee are far less harmful than the health problems from consuming too much of these other substances. (Indeed “too much” of some of those substances would be “any”!) However, I do think there are some health problems that like to get ignored, just like any other addiction. When it comes to our own little vice, we are quick to see the potential good and quick to ignore the probable bad.

What are the “probable bad” things I link with coffee addiction? I’ll tackle them in three categories: the biblical bad, the behavioral bad, and the bigoted bad. (You could easily say that all three are actually biblical… but this way you get some clever alliteration. You’re welcome!)

The Biblical Bad

The easiest biblical bad to be seen with coffee is idolatry. All over the Bible God tells the nation of Israel, and the Christian church, not to engage in idolatry. The books of Judges, Kings, and Chronicles are all about Israel’s failure to abstain from idolatry.

Idolatry is putting man-made objects before God. Idolatry is making anything but God your “bae.” (For you older readers, younger readers, or any readers not reading in 2015, that means “before anything else” in the current age.)

A question to ask honestly of yourself: Do I put coffee before God?

Don’t answer too fast. Give it some time. Do you spend more time thinking about coffee than God? If coffee were to disappear from the earth tomorrow, would your spiritual life be affected? The Christian should be able to confidently answer: NO! My spiritual life is not coffee-dependent.

Many other biblical principles can be applied to the question of coffee.

The Bible tells us to abstain from lust. (James 1:14-15; 2 Tim 2:22; Col 3:5; Gal 5:16) Do you lust for coffee?  The bible tells us to be sober-minded and watchful. (1 Pet 5:8) Are you sober-minded without coffee? The Bible tells us to be enslaved by nothing but God. (1 Cor 6:12) Are you enslaved by coffee?

Is your constant thirst for coffee a spiritual or fleshly thirst? If it’s spiritual, you’re “filling” that need incorrectly, if it’s fleshly, you’re incorrectly filling that “need.”

In the end, the question is this: does your coffee addiction increase the authority of your body over your mind? If so, you’re out of alignment.

The Behavioral Bad

The biblical passages above should make my case, but, in case you need more convincing that Christians shouldn’t be addicted to coffee, here’re a few more questions for you to ponder.

Do you get headaches when you go without coffee? Do you get irritable when you go without coffee? Do you sweat more without coffee? Do you get anxiety, and restlessness, racing heart and heavy breathing without coffee?  If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, ask yourself the next one.

Is that right or normal?

If you’re being honest, you know it’s not. The symptoms described are classic withdrawal symptoms, and they are the most common ones I hear from people who give up coffee for a week.

It’s literally an addiction.

If a drug or alcohol addict had these same symptoms when their particular substance was taken away, what would you, as a good Christian, tell them to do?

STOP!

This leads me to my final category.

The Bigoted Bad

Many Christians who are addicted to coffee suffer from a veiled bigotry against other substance abusers, or even just substance users.

A parallel I find interesting, that sparked this entire paper, is that of cigarettes to coffee.

70-80 years ago, a local church would let out on Sunday morning and all the congregants would go outside and smoke cigarettes and talk about the sermon. This was before smoking was considered so “taboo.” It was normal to smoke and everybody did it. Nowadays, a Christian who lights up after church gets a call from the pastor that night.

News flash. Smoking tobacco is no more sinful than drinking coffee, it’s society and culture that has changed that perception in our minds. Brothers, this ought not be.

Nowadays, we have replaced one addictive substance-abusing vice with another! What’s worse… the church supplies the substance! It seems like every church has at least a coffee maker for its congregants, if not a coffee bar!

And the worst of all, those same coffee addicts will look down on the pack-a-day smokers, saying that they lack self-control and discipline over their body. Those same coffee addicts will be disgusted by the man who admits to acting on same-sex temptations. Those same coffee addicts will scoff at the church-goer who failed to resist the temptation to pornography. Those same coffee addicts will scold the alcoholic who confesses his drunkeness from the night before. How bigoted. How hypocritical. Brothers, sisters, I say again, this ought not be.

The church should shape society, not be shaped by it, and the church should not be bigoted or hypocritical. I do not mean to say that any of these sins should be tolerated or celebrated. On the contrary, all of those sins listed in the preceding paragraph should be put to death within the church. All of them! Even addiction to coffee. Remove the log out of your own eye and then help your brother remove his speck. Spur one-another on to good works, showing loving-kindness and patience. Submit yourselves to God, Resist the devil and he WILL flee from you.

My Final Plea

Examine yourself. See if this is one particular substance you might be abusing, then make a change.  Don’t fall into the traps of the bigoted, behavioral, biblical bad that comes with coffee addiction. Resist the temptation to make coffee your idol. Humble yourself, confess your sins to God and he will be faithful and just to forgive you, and then confess your sins to your brothers and sisters in Christ who can pray with you and help you through the addiction.

1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”