Morning coffee and Proverbs 18:6

I must start my day with coffee. Sometimes I feel guilty about that but the feeling doesn't last long. Most any coffee will do - I'm not a coffee snob - I rarely go to Starbucks or Caribou or Alterra (less than a dozen times in a year anyway). The only coffee I can truly say I don't like is McDonald's coffee, which is funny because that's my hubby's favorite. I think MickeyD's coffee is one of those things like black licorice... you either hate it or love it. I hate black licorice and I hate McDonald's coffee so that's how I figure it works.

I drink my coffee with God most mornings. What I mean is that the pot of coffee is on a timer and it brews before my alarm goes off. When I shuffle to the kitchen, it's waiting for me. I pour myself a steaming hot cup, add creamer and some Splenda, and then wander off to my prayer closet (the blue room) to spend time alone with God. Maybe that's the true reason I like coffee so much - I associate it with something pleasureable. I once heard that part of the addiction to cigarettes is the connection we make emotionally because we think they calm us down. When I was a smoker (shocking!?) I would get up from my desk, walk outside, light up, and inhale deeply and slowly. Duh! Of course it calmed me down! I should do that now but without the cigarette (I quit about 20 years ago)... leave my desk, go outside and take deep, slow breaths for about 15 minutes... I think it would calm me... possibly. But I digress... my point is that I spend time with God while a steaming cup of morning coffee is on the table and it's a habit I would find hard to break.

So this morning I encountered Proverbs 18:6 which reads, "A fool's lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating." I had to read it twice. At first I laughed and then I thought about the truth contained therein. I thought about how many times, as a child, I mouthed off to my Mom and got a good slap or spanking. I thought about the times I witnessed the same cause & effect when my cousins mouthed off to my Aunt or Uncle. I thought about the times my daughter tested my patience in that way and I let her know she crossed a line. There was a fine line between respect and fear and sometimes no line between them at all. I recall being respectful because I was fearful of the outcome if I wasn't. I worry about our world today because that concept has all but disappeared. I've observed kids being disrespectful to their parents, downright brats, with no consequences. The next step is lack of respect for elders, teachers, bosses, and a whole host of other people that I wouldn't have dreamed of disrespecting as a child. I learned to be respectful, even fearful, because of the times that my mouth invited, and received, a beating.

Thought to ponder... if we don't learn to respect, and even fear, the authority figures in our lives - whom we CAN see - is it any surprise that we lack respect for, and fear of, a Holy Creator whom we CANNOT see? I pray that I would never again test the patience of my LORD.