(This post was originally made several years ago on my previous blog. Christopher Hitchens has since passed away of cancer)
Let’s talk about coffee. If, by the title, you were expecting some sad human interest story about an abused or abducted child then you came to the wrong place. I am going to tell you about a story of abuse and abduction, but not the kind you’re thinking of. First, however, I want to talk about coffee.
Do you remember the first time you ever bought yourself a cup? As a 90s adolescent I was more fortunate than young men in previous generations in that straight, black, sugerless coffee was no longer what you had to regularly ingest in order to be inducted into the world of manhood. cappuccino was en vogue, and if you really wanted to seem eccentric you could even order a latte. Times have changed. Now coffee is everywhere. You can even get “gourmet” caffeinated concoctions in the strangest places. What does this have to do with child abduction? Just hold on, I’m getting there.
People have become so obsessed with coffee that there are sometimes Starbucks shop’s across the street from each other, as seen above. 21st century Americans spend hours at these places, (I earned my bachelors degree and wrote my first book at coffee shops). Furthermore, a lot of people are so obsessed with coffee that they not only spend time at Starbucks, but also have books about coffee, multiple coffee mugs, multiple coffee makers (espresso and regular), and even art to celebrate coffee (or perhaps western boots it would seem). Perhaps they even have a God, as the mythical siren is featured in the center of the Starbucks logo. What does all of this have to do with child abduction? Alright, alright!
This man is trying to destroy your child’s faith in Christianity. You can brush this off and ignore the reality, but he has made the repeated claim that it is his desire that this generation of Christianity will be the last. He knows the Bible better than Jane and Joe Christian do (you’ll recall from my previous posts that these are names I am using to represent average churchgoers). He knows church history better than Jane and Joe as well. and he is a rhetorical master. By the way, he has compatriots in atheism at many institutions of higher learning where Jane and Joe’s kid will go (I’ve met them). He has an army of like-minded teenage followers who regularly talk to Jane and Joe’s kid at school, on the internet and while playing Xbox (I’ve chatted with them). He is not tolerant of Jane and Joe’s faith as they are his lack of it, and he is not harmless. His goal is to abduct Jane and Joe’s kid into atheism. And they have no way of insulating their child from such influences. So now you might be asking, “what does this have to do with coffee?”
Do not stop reading after I make this statement. If Jane and Joe were as interested in studying their faith more deeply as they are in coffee, they would know how to prepare their child for attacks such as these (Prov. 22:6). You might suppose that I am encouraging Jane and Joe to study their Bibles more. Yes, but also study wonderful books which will help them develop (2 Tim. 2:15). By the way, I don’t mean, the latest 5 minute devotional study. Rather, I am referring to books that scare you! Books you don’t think you can understand are so rewarding when you finally do. Read books on theology, church history, apologetics and soften it up a bit with something from the Christian living section if you must. Jane and Joe cannot insulate their child, but they can equip him at home, using the knowledge they have gained, so that he will be prepared to stand on his own when attacks come. After all, it isn’t just atheists like Christopher Hitchens who are after them, but false teachers within Christianity as well (Jude 1:4). Right now the Southern Baptist Convention is divided over a very important theological matter. Sadly Jane and Joe Christian would not even be aware of the subject. Now is the time to know what you believe.
At this very moment I am indulging in the most responsible addiction of the flesh. I’m drinking coffee. The good news is, I am about to continue drinking it as I study theology. Hitchens, the guy who is after your children, may sadly get his filthy hands on them and abduct them into faithlessness without their parent’s preparation. However, I am going to do everything in my power to show my daughter that I am more interested in her spiritual growth than music, movies, food or caffeine. I will do all I can to prepare her, and I look forward to many long conversations about what God is doing in her life. Where will we have such talks? At Starbucks, of course.
Note: Please pray for the atheist Christopher Hitchens (pictured above). He has recently been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer.