Coffee and all things doubtful…

Back in May, at Roots UK, I made a decision to drink nothing but water as long as there were some people in the world who went thirsty. I later repeated this commitment in an article in JAC. I also underlined it in a ‘holiness manifesto’ published on my website.

I must confess (much to my shame) that I have not kept this commitment. I love coffee – especially good coffee. I can think of no better way to start the day than a cup of rich black Columbian Americano. I don’t have to buy the stuff it is offered to me all day every day for free! The first thing my boss does in the morning is make a large cafetiere of strong black coffee.

Now some people might tell me that I am stupid to beat myself up over this, they would point out that there are more important things in the world to get passionate about – if I did anything wrong then it was making such a reckless and unecessary decision in the first place.

However, holiness – as originally taught by the Army - requires me to give up not just what is sinful but also “everything that seems doubtful, for the Bible shows such to be sinful.”

Coffee is a big doubt for me for the following reasons.

• Caffeine is an addictive drug, affecting 90% of all users, which alters the brain's natural state, and stimulates it in a manner similar to the amphetamines cocaine and heroin. My body is the temple of God and I want it to be as pure as possible.
• Coffee – especially the Starbucks type - is very expensive. Farmers, many of them indigenous peoples, grow most of the world's coffee beans on plots of less than 10 acres. The prices they receive are often less than the cost of growing and harvesting the coffee, which pushes them into an endless cycle of poverty and debt. Coffee is also grown on large plantations worked by landless day workers including many children in extremely poor working conditions.
• Finney was opposed to coffee and tea - “It is well known, or ought to be, that tea and coffee have no nutriment in them. They are mere stimulants. They go through the system without being digested. The milk and sugar you put in them are nourishing. And so they would be just as much so if you mixed them with rum, and made milk punch. But the tea and the coffee afford no nourishment. And yet I dare say, that a majority of the families in this city give more in a year for their tea and coffee, than they do to save the world from hell.” (Lectures to professing Christians.)

I am familiar with Paul’s advice to the Corinthians “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink…” But in spite of this the doubts will not go away.

The result of all this is a delay in the confirming blessing of God the Holy Spirit who will not accept an incomplete sacrifice. I have also found that spiritual growth is impeded whilst this issue remains unresolved.

I fear I must surrender coffee or surrender holiness.

Now that would be incredible wouldn’t it - missing out on heaven, holiness and greater evangelical effectiveness all for the sake of a cup of black coffee.

Dear friend I must nail caffeine to the cross or retreat.

What about you? Do you have doubts about anything? Is there any pastime or expense in your life that you are not thoroughly comfortable with? Then crucify it and move on!

Yours (almost completely) set apart for God

A