Weak Coffee

 

Starbucks is known for a good and strong cup of coffee. Before Starbucks descended upon the land like locusts--I know, it is not the most favorable analogy--most people drank diner-quality coffee. Crap like Maxwell House, raunchy to the last drop. It was probably better that is was made weak because it just had a bad taste. Halitosis in a cup. The lady that played the Wicked Witch of the West peddled Maxwell House back in the day. It was a fitting pairing.

Starbucks may not be favored by all but even its critics must grant that it has raised the bar of quality--and had the net effect of creating an increase of even non-Starbucks coffee houses. It is not like cafes were across the land before Starbucks exploded like an espresso. Even coffee at hotels is better, as I am drinking a cup now as I write. Diner coffee still stinks.

Until amazon.com can deliver a piping hot cup of atomic strength java to my door in minutes, the mermaid will continue to swim unabated. BTW, this is an old picture of a Starbucks cup above as they have now dropped the Starbucks Coffee and just have kept the girl. Iconic status like the Golden Arches.

So,  I was quite miffed yesterday to receive a very weak cup of coffee from Starbucks at Harrisburg International Airport. That is like getting a veggie burger at Hardees. It is one of those traditions that when I fly, which is not often, I treat myself to a cup of Starbucks. I mean the concoction tasted like tea. When I got back to my seat, I debated going back and complaining. I didn't want to raise a ruckus and time was also kind of short. I am haggling over my coffee and I miss my plane to Chicago. Nice move Bobby Fisher.

I then recalled that I had some Starbucks Via in my carry-on bag. I had brought it along in case I needed a jolt for a late night jaunt in a jiffy while out here in Chicago. I supercharged my Starbucks cup and got the brew back into the dopamine zone, while bringing the taste and strength up the ladder.

Here is the theological lesson in all of this. We think that if we crank down on sharing the Bible brew in its full strength, that our culture will like it more. The irony is that the world will like it less because there is nothing in it that they can't get elsewhere, the self-help genre. We don't need to be abrasive and obnoxious (in fact, just the opposite) yet the Bible has some very hard things to tell humanity. Instead, we water down the message, add sugar and milk, and both Jesus and the world spew it out of their mouth. Serve it straight and strong.

Here it is in a nutshell:

- All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Left to our own devices, we are damned eternally. We are not merely misguided and maladjusted. We are rebels to the righteousness of God and if He had not stooped to save, we would all be lost. We have only one way out and up. Jesus, the only name by which we are saved. Let us not underestimate our condition nor Christ.