Thursday, April 20, 2006

MAKE MINE DECAF?

"All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient:  all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."  (2 Corinthians 6:12)

I'm not sure why, but many Christians LOVE to "RAIL" against sin.

"God will JUDGE the homosexuals!" they proclaim.

"Put that cigarette out!  Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit!"  is another familiar line.

Some even proclaim that Jesus didn't drink wine- only grape juice.

Despite all of the self-righteous pontificating, I have rarely heard anyone bring up the issue of addiction to caffeine.  Could it be because they ARE addicted to caffeine?  As of this writing, I am addicted to caffeine.  I also know that addiction to caffeine is clearly in violation of 2 Corinthians 6:12 which is quoted above.  Probably 50-70% of the adult population of the United States of America is addicted to caffeine, and that statistic would be about the same for evangelical Christians and non-evangelical Christians.

I've been drinking caffeinated beverages as long as I can remember.  Although it was usually reserved for special occasions, I certainly drank my share of Coke and Pepsi as a kid.  We also drank tea, although it was heavily diluted with milk.  I drank my first cup of coffee when I was 12.  Like most 12-year-olds, I didn't think it tasted all that great, but with lots of cream and sugar, it was tolerable.  By the time I was 18, I could drink coffee with the best of 'em.  At that age, I still prefered cola drinks and tea to coffee, but I was probably drinking three or four cups of coffee a week.  I went on staff at Christian Life Center church in Walpole in 1981. There was an "industrial strength" coffeemaker at the staff's disposal throughout the workday.  It became normal for me to drink at least 3 mugs full of coffee a day, and sometimes more.  By the mid-1980s I absolutely LOVED the taste and smell of coffee and was completely addicted to caffeine.  I knew  I was addicted because if I ever skipped caffeine for a day, and once-in-a while I did, I had the WORST headache, plus overwhelming fatigue and irritability

One Sunday this past summer, I preached on 2 Corinthians chapter 6.  In dealing with verse 12, I admitted my caffeine addiction, that it was wrong, and that it was something I knew I had to deal with before God.  The trouble was, I couldn't figure out WHEN I could ever get off caffeine.  I certainly wasn't going to do it while working, or I couldn't get my work done.  I certainly wasn't going to do it while on vacation, because that would ruin my vacation.

Lent is not a big deal in the Assemblies of God, but this past Lent I decided to see if I could LIMIT my caffeine intake.  I allowed myself to have caffeine first thing in the morning and in the evening, but NONE during the bulk of the day.  Having a decaf coffee in the middle of the afternoon and drinking caffeine free Coke at home during lunch helped me to "pretend" I was still drinking caffeine.  I wondered if after Lent I would just go back to my "normal" pattern.  I haven't.  Now, I did say I'm still addicted to caffeine.  I am, but much less so.  I'm actually writing this on Wednesday afternoon at 2:20 p.m.  So far today I have not had caffeine at all.  I AM starting to feel just a little bit tired, but there's no headache and I really don't feel too bad.  (I will probably have my first coffee of the day in awhile.)  Last night at our Board meeting I had two cups of real coffee.  This morning my heart was RACING from too much caffeine.  I actually saw that as a good thing.  Because I'm now a lot LESS addicted to it, it's starting to really affect me.  (Six months ago I could drink 3 strong coffees in the late evening, fall asleep and sleep like a baby!)

I'm just taking this one day at a time.  I'm not totally off caffeine.  I may or may not eventually get totally off of it.  I still like the "pick me up" a real cup of coffee or a caffinated Coke gives me.  I just want to be a lot less dependent on the stuff.  

I was thinking about what to post on my blog on Thursday morning.  Since I realized it's now after 2 and I have not had any caffeine yet today, I just thought I'd write about that.

Again, I'm not COMPLETELY off caffeine so don't yell at me if you see me drinking a real Coke or a real coffee, but it does feel good to be LESS dependent,  and maybe '07 will be the year I'm completely off the caffeine.

I'd love to hear your comments!.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

i totally stopped drinking caffeine when i came out here, not because i was addicted or anything, just never really liked it all that much. as you know, i always preferred sprite to coke any day. now when i go home and we have coke at dinner, my heart races and i feel weird. i would much rather have water. i'm glad you're "kicking the habit" and stuff. it will be much better for your blood pressure too.  :)

Anonymous said...

I too love coffee but have had to abstain because I have GERD.  But the other day my husband and I decided to be "good" to ourselves and stopped in at the Dunkin' Donuts on Rt. 9 and indulged ourselves with a glazed cruller (each) and 2 cups of their delicious coffee.  Heavenly!  (Altlhough that's probably the wrong word for it, according to 2 Corinthians 6:12).  I paid for it later, of course, but it sure tasted good for the moment, but only for the moment.  So for me, it's good-bye to caffeine for another 6 months or so.

PS: Did you read the paper yesterday about how cell phones (and other distractions) are responsible for 80% of car crashes?  

Jennie

Anonymous said...

I think coffee tastes gross... I usually have no more than 1 caffinated drink a day... not when I do I get headaches... glad you're drinking less coffee... it'd be weird if you stop drinking caffine all together though... hey, when you first started cutting back would you get all tired and start weaving in your car when you drove?
Good luck with your addiction.   :-P
~rachel