I Love Coffee

If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. Deuteronomy 23:24

Having been addicted to opioids, I’ve now been sober for the last 10 years. This means that I’ve been abstinent of all mood-altering substances, including alcohol and tobacco. That is, I’m abstinent from all substances except caffeine. I love coffee. It’s such an integral part of my morning routine, that I think of the first hour of my day as Coffee with God. So, there are those who’ve asked about caffeine – Do I need give up caffeine to consider myself sober? It’s a valid question. I likely have some physical dependence on caffeine and I certainly crave it when I don’t get it. So, the question stands – Am I addicted to coffee, and do I need to give it up?

In addiction medicine, there’s an important distinction between physical dependency and addiction. For instance, I must take a thyroid hormone replacement every day. My thyroid was removed years ago and so now, I’m physically dependent on a replacement. If I didn’t have that replacement, I’d go through physical withdrawal and eventually die. I don’t however, lie, betray my family, or engage in illegal activity to get my thyroid medicine. I’m physically dependent on it, without displaying addictive behavior.

Though it’s not specifically about addiction, today’s passage alludes to this distinction. In the passage, God gave his people some oddly specific instructions regarding a neighbor’s vineyard. If one found himself in his neighbor’s vineyard, he was allowed to eat some grapes. However, he wasn’t allowed to collect grapes to take home. Eating a neighbor’s grapes was acceptable under certain circumstances, but once the eating turned into stealing, it became wrong. Eating grapes wasn’t necessarily sin, but rather, it was the toxic behavior around the grapes that made it sin.

Maybe I’m trying to justify my coffee indulgence, but my point goes beyond just coffee. There are behaviors in my life that I must question. Is this self-destructive? Is this an addiction? For instance, I often make a big deal out of eating donuts. Are you saying donuts are evil? I think it completely depends on the behavior surrounding my donut eating. I can enjoy a donut with my family for breakfast without engaging in self-destructive behavior. When, however, I later sneak back and eat all the donuts and then hide the evidence, that is addictive, self-destructive behavior.

So, this is how I must approach those gray areas in life. What’s my behavior pattern here? If I find I’m hiding, sneaking, and lying, then that behavior is addictive and self-destructive, and it must be abandoned.