Vox populi | addiction

… I’m down to three a day

M

y name is Rick, and I’m an addict.  Actually, I’m a caffeine addict, and I personally believe that caffeine addiction is one of the non-canonical gifts of the Holy Spirit; a gift destined to ensure the efficient running of this temple of the Holy Spirit.  You see, my temple runs on caffeine.  For Pete’s sake, Paul champions the cause of carnivores in his Corinthian missive on meat (I’ve never understood vegetarianism.  Why do these people hate plants so much).  I’m off on a rabbit trail.  My point… if Paul was permissive with meat then he certainly must have understood the need for a great cup ‘o joe after a feast of meat.

I remember sharing my need for caffeine at a Bible study I was conducting during my time as a cadet at Corps 614 in Regent Park (Toronto, Canada).  Catching up on the week included going around the table and talking about what God was doing in your life.  Men would share, “I’ve given up crack.  I’m only smoking pot”, to which we’d all cheer how good God was for His work in their lives.  The conversation came around to me, and I recall sharing, “Well, it’s been a good week for me.  I’m overcoming my addiction, and I’m down to only three cups of coffee a day.”  Everyone broke up and laughed.  Many called me Mr. Rogers, in reference to the quaint children’s TV host.  My red Army cardigan didn’t help matters.

Anyway, I’ve concluded I have a caffeine addiction.  If I don’t drink coffee I get headaches, but not that I’ve experienced them too often.  Why would I even consider giving up coffee.  Some suggest I should give it up for lent.  Hey, I can’t give up everything.  Last year I gave up self-control for lent.  That was enough.  Now, I don’t steal from my family to feed my addiction, and I don’t have any fear of finding my story broadcast on an episode of intervention.  In fact, this blog is kind of acting cathartically like a good therapy session.  To top it all off, today I find out that drinking 3-4 cups of coffee everyday will actually reduce my risk of death by up to 25%.  Forget working out.  I’m going to the local coffee shop, and I figure if I switch to Fair Trade coffee then the added benefit of reduced guilt in my life should put me in the longevity neighbourhood with the patriarchs.

We covenant to stay away from tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs.  We don’t want to mar the temple after all, but what about caffeine?  Hey, what about food addiction?  Our bodies should be temples, not tabernacles or basilicas.  Isn’t obesity an issue that should be considered as part of the disciplined life or should we only focus on the aforementioned really bad ones?  Well, I await any words of wisdom you may offer in relation to my addiction or any thoughts as to how far we take this argument.

Vox populi appears every Friday on theRubicon. Find past Vox populi posts and a bio of Capt. Rick Zelinsky here.

1 Comment to Vox populi | addiction

1. Great article. Your good humor made the tough-to-hear message almost painless.

   I have to agree that obesity is a spiritual issue - at least mine is for me.

   The problem, I think, is that fat people like myself more often feel a self-defeating self-loathing because of being overweight, rather that an actual spiritual fire to change things.

   Actually, I could probably rewrite that as

   The problem, I think, is that (people, but especially Americans) like myself more often feel a self-defeating self-loathing because of (whatever’s wrong with us), rather that an actual spiritual fire to change things.
Timothy Dedeaux on June 9th, 2009

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