If you are a Christian, and you find yourself “needing” coffee, you may want to evaluate your relationship with coffee.  Are you addicted?  Is coffee an idol for you?

I will give a personal example here.   In 2005 I moved to the Indianapolis area. I rapidly became a Colts fan. In December of 2005 I went to my first Colts game, and I was hooked.  Being surrounded by 60,000 screaming fans focused on the actions of these 22 men on the field is an amazing feeling.  It’s much different than watching the game on television.    Over the course of the next year I slowly became addicted to the Indianapolis Colts.  I knew every player. I knew their positions, their game stats, the teams they were playing, etc.  I watched every game. I bought several jerseys (some for about $80 each). I went to several games, and bought a season ticket for the 2007 season. I went to almost every game, unless I had to work.

Our church gets out about 11:30 on Sunday mornings. The Sunday afternoon games start at 1pm, which gave me just enough time to drive the 45 minutes to the stadium, park, and walk in, getting to my seat just before kickoff. I remember being upset one Sunday because the songleader of our church wanted to have a “short practice” after the service, and it lasted about 20 minutes.  I was actually angry as I drove to the stadium, because I knew that I was now going to miss kickoff.  Shortly thereafter I finally realized that I was addicted to the Indianapolis Colts.  They had become more important to me than other things that should have been more important, and therefore, they were an idol.

And so I gave up my idol.  I canceled my season tickets.  I stopped obsessing about the Colts.  I’m still a Colts fan. I still watch games, but it’s not the end of the world if I miss one.  Today I could probably only name four or five players on the team. I only go to about one game every few years.  I don’t own the jersey of any active Colts player.  I have effectively downgraded the Colts from an addiction to something I enjoy from time to time.

Some of my Facebook friends post frequently about how much they love coffee. A few post incessantly.  Now I’m not saying these people are addicted.  But they do seem obsessed.  And so, to those of you who think you can’t live without coffee, I would encourage you to take a good look at the coffee bean and ask yourself:  is coffee more important to you than anything else?  Could you go a day without coffee?  Could you go a week?  A month?  If your answer is “I’m not sure,” you might want to take a good, long look at your priorities.