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Bowing to the coffee god
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Wednesday, July, 21, 2010
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by John Fischer
I got a new Starbucks mug yesterday. It's a ceramic version of the famous cardboard cup with the familiar green circle. I am shamelessly loyal to the Starbucks brand. That’s because coffee is my religion. I can say that because Christianity is not my religion. In fact, I don’t have a religion; I only have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ His Son.
But I drink coffee religiously.
Religion is ritual, habit, doing certain things to get certain results, and pleasing the acceptable god by bowing, scraping and doing all the necessary penance required by that god to please him/her/it. I have been known to bow and scrape to the coffee god, but thankfully, not the real God, because the real God does not require this.
God does want my love and devotion, but He doesn’t want it in the form of religion. He has even been known to get upset with people who make a religion out of knowing him. He does not want our sacrifices, our regular attendance at worship, or even the praises of our lips if our hearts are not in it. And if our hearts are with him, where they should be, none of these things are good for brownie points in heaven. They may be a part of our lives, but they will flow out from us as a natural expression of a loving relationship.
Now I’ve had my old mug for at least 5 years, and this new one has a different set of rituals attached to it that I will have to adjust to. No problem. I can do this; it’s just coffee.
God, on the other hand, would not want to be a 10-year habit broken only by a new church, devotional book or pattern of personal discipline. Discipline is fine when it comes to self-control, but God would not like to be the product of discipline any more than you or I would. God doesn’t want our words, our singing, our sacrifice or our self-flagellation; He wants our hearts.
A real relationship is based on love and wanting to be with someone. That comes from the heart. And if it isn’t in your heart, no amount of religion will ever put it there.
Meanwhile, for my coffee experience, I continue to worship at the Cathedral of St. Arbucks. My coffee religion remains firmly rooted. For me, religion applies to coffee, but not to God. God is too reckless and unpredictable to fit into any religious system or practice. And aren’t you glad?
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