There’s nothing like starting the day with a hot cup of coffee… at least for most people. The British prefer a cup of tea and many of the younger generation seems to prefer a Coke in the morning, something that us coffee lovers have trouble understanding. But for the majority of Americans, including the majority of Christians, the right way to start the morning is a hot cup of coffee. We even joke about how we can’t function until we have that first cup or two.
Coffee was supposedly first discovered by an Ethiopian goat herder about 850 AD. While the details of the story and even the year might be questionable, all the various sources I’ve seen are fairly close to the same. This goat herder discovered that his goats were friskier after eating “coffee cherries” from local shrubbery. Experimenting with the beans of this shrub, he discovered the coffee bean.
Turning coffee beans into coffee has been attributed to a group of monks. The first monk that the goatherd shared the beans with saw them as a way to give him energy to pray longer, without tiring. After trying it himself, he shared the discovery with his fellow monks. Intrigued, they experimented with them, ultimately finding that roasting them, grinding them up and then soaking them in hot water produced a tasty drink, with a greater energy boost than just eating the beans.
Since then, coffee has traveled around the world, being accepted in most countries. While there are still places where it isn’t drunk, the vast majority of the world enjoys coffee, whether as a wake-me-up in the morning or something to drink during business meetings.
Coffee’s popularity in the United States is closely tied to the Revolutionary War. When the British implemented the stamp act, taxing the import of coffee, which could only be brought to the colonies by British ships, many people switched to coffee instead. Making that switch was both an act of rebellion against a tax which was thought to be unfair and a way of saving money by not having to pay the tax. Since then, the US has become one of the top coffee consumers in the world.
Yet there are those who consider drinking coffee a sin. Their basis for saying this is that coffee is a drug and is therefore addictive. Looking at it from a purely scientific viewpoint, it is true that coffee is a drug; caffeine, the chemical in coffee that gave those goats an energy boost, is a stimulant. But then, caffeine is found in a lot of other things too, ranging from chocolate to soft drinks. As for it being addictive, many people joke about being addicted to coffee or caffeine, but while we can feel like we’re dependent on a fresh cup of coffee to help us start our day, true physical dependency is rare and the symptoms of coffee withdrawal are mild, not lasting more than a day or two. Of course, the more coffee someone drinks, the more likely they are to develop some dependency on it.
It’s Not Alcohol
But coffee itself is not mentioned in the Bible, probably mostly because it was not discovered until over 700 years after the New Testament was written. Jesus obviously didn’t drink it, nor did any of Hid disciples. The Bible does talk about drinking wine and strong drink, making admonishments against them; but saying that applies to coffee may not be justified.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. – Proverbs 20:0
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit – Ephesians 5:18
Alcohol, of the type we find in wine and other strong drinks, affects the brain in much different ways than caffeine does. It is impossible to become drunk from drinking coffee. Therefore, the admonitions against drunkenness don’t apply to coffee, regardless of what anyone says about them.
When we compare the two, we find that alcohol inhibits brain function, slowing it down. This can lead to a variety of problems, especially reducing one’s ability to react to danger. That’s at least part of why drunk driving is so dangerous. At the same time, it can alter how we perceive information we are receiving from our senses and how we process that information.
Caffeine is quite different in that it is a stimulant, so it increases the brain’s metabolism, speeding up our thinking process. This is most noted by people who are feeling tired and sluggish, as the caffeine helps them to think more clearly. Once we are awake, we are less likely to feel the effects of caffeine, even though they will still be there.
Coffee and the effects of coffee can actually be good, helping us to serve the Lord. Is it not better to drink a cup of coffee on the way to church or during one’s time of prayer, than to fall asleep and gain nothing? While it would be great to be able to stay awake at those times without the help of coffee, it is better to receive that help, than to lose the spiritual blessing of spending time with the Lord.
Is There a Limit?
The one admonition that the Bible gives us about drinking coffee would seem to be in the area of addiction. While it is possible to become physically addicted to caffeine, one or two cups of coffee per day isn’t going to do that.
As Christians, we are called to do things in moderation, rather than to the extreme. This refers to the food we eat and the things we drink. As such, it would apply to coffee, just as much as it would to cheeseburgers.
Have you found honey (or coffee)? Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it and vomit. – Proverbs 25:16
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. – Philippians 4:5 KJV
While that verse taken from proverbs can be seen to talk only about honey specifically, the principle that it is presenting is applicable to just about anything we might consume. Eat or drink it with moderation, so that it doesn’t make you sick. When we put that together with what it says in Philippians, it appears that moderation is something that God expects of us. He goes on to talk about this more in the New Testament, speaking in several places about self-control, which is listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23
And everyone who competes for the prize (salvation)2 is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. – 1 Corinthians 9:25
The word “temperate” in that second verse can be seen to mean “restrained, moderate, or disciplined,” all of which are synonyms for it. When we look up the definition of the word, we receive “showing moderation or self-restraint).
Okay, so just how much coffee can we drink, and still be said to be exercising self-restraint? That’s something that each person must decide for themselves. Obviously, we wouldn’t want to be drinking so much that it gives us the shakes, where others can see it. That clearly would not be self-control. But splitting hairs about whether three or four cups of coffee in a day is ridiculous. God isn’t that specific about such things, partially because they are different for each individual.
Paul said that he would not allow anything to master or enslave him. That’s pretty good advice. If we are drinking so much coffee, eating so much candy or letting anything else that enters our mouth reach a point where we have to have it, then it’s probably a good idea to set that aside for a while, allowing our bodies to clear that out of our system and get back to functioning normal without it. That would also give us the chance to readjust our thinking, so that we are not seeking that thing out all the time.
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. – 1 Corinthians 6:12
Allowing coffee, or anything else for that matter, to gain control over us is not good. That’s an addiction.
There are other ways that coffee can be harmful as well. It contains a lot of acid, which can cause stomach problems. People who drink a lot of coffee may find that they have heartburn or acid reflux frequently. If that is ignored long enough, it can lead to ulcers. It would be wise to stop coffee consumption for some time, if that’s the case, with the possibility of starting to drink it once again, once the craving to drink it is under control.
What About Others?
Each individual must make their own decision about things like coffee, which the Bible doesn’t give us specific instructions about. We must take the whole of the scriptures and try to discern God’s will. That isn’t always clear and not everyone will come to the same conclusion.
Serious problems can occur when we try to impose our interpretation on others. Yet we always find it easier to tell others what to do, than it is to live up to those beliefs ourselves. Nevertheless, without specific spiritual admonition about a specific thing, we have no grounds to impose any restrictions on other people’s lives. We must concern ourselves with how we live our own, leaving their life between them and God.
Don’t hold it against them if they choose to do something you disagree with, even if the Bible makes it clear that it is sin. We are not to judge others, but rather to be a light unto them. You aren’t going to get anyone to turn to Christ by telling them that drinking coffee is sin. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. – Romans 14:22-23