Mid-Week Madness: Quitting Coffee

A few months ago I stopped drinking coffee. At all. No coffee. I really love coffee too—the smell, the taste, and especially the pick-me-up.

Now you may be already judging me. Two camps: you are thinking, “Wow, no coffee. What a loser. He is obviously not very emergent. He probably doesn’t even use a MacBook.” Or, you could be thinking, “Wow, no coffee, how disciplined! He probably reads Spurgeon and writes poetry.” But the truth is, I had to give it up. Doctor’s orders for some minor health issues.

But here’s what happened next. I had a massive headache for 4 days straight. Pounding. And every morning I continue to stumble over to where the coffee pot used to be, but it isn’t there. And several times throughout the day, I desperately wish I could have a delicious hot cup of Joe.

Sometimes I even settle for a cup of decaf.  But it feels…so…impotent.

What this experience has taught me is what we already know. We love to medicate ourselves to feel better from the smallest of ailments. We do it for sleepiness, and then we do it again when we want to go to sleep. We pacify our minds with music and TV so that we don’t have to think about our problems. We grab a bag of chips to curb the slightest hunger we may feel.

But what would happen if we allowed ourselves to “suffer” just a little bit each day? Would we be better off for it? Would we become more like Jesus? Would we at least be reminded of all the pain he went through for us?

I was talking to my friend Randy the other day. Randy is a professional counselor who helps people with substance abuse issues. He is also a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. He told me that former addicts tend to trade in one addiction for another. A heroin addict might become a chain smoker. An alcoholic might become a coffee-holic. One addiction is clearly better than the other, but the heart impulse is the same. He said that we all want to feel better right now. He said we should allow our minor sufferings to prompt us to evaluate our hearts.

So ask yourself this: what is an area of your life that you might be willing to give up for a time, in order to experience some minor “suffering”?  The results might surprise you.

Wow, what an unpopular idea. Comments?