I remember walking into a trade show in Germany about ten years ago. It was 9:00 AM, and many people were eating breakfast. I passed a table where two guys were eating a pile of sausages and drinking beer. Beer for breakfast! That really freaked me out. It shocked my sensibilities as an American, nevermind as a Christian. It’s moments like that when I realize how much culture influences (and perhaps interferes) with my ideas of living a Christian life.

Take our fascination with caffeine. Although not as damaging as alcohol, it’s suposedly more addictive. I actually heard a pastor refer to coffee as “the nectar of life” last week. It cracked me up, but here’s the point: We automatically assume that his coffee drinking is not a life-altering addiction that comes between him and God. However, we _would_ automatically assume that alcohol did just that if he’d referred to beer as the nectar of life.

God is not an American. Beer is not the nectar of life. Neither is coffee. Personally, I prefer beer.

But not for breakfast.