What Kind Of Beverage Are You?

Recently, I have taken to describing myself as a cup of coffee. I know, odd isn’t it? Perhaps it would help to explain the context.

FRIEND: What happened to that guy you were seeing?

ME: I think I am just too strong a cup of coffee for him.

Hmmm, maybe it’s not that odd after all. I mean, I could just as easily have said “I’m not his cup of tea” and that would have sounded perfectly normal. Right? But tea isn’t a good descriptor of my personality. I’m definitely a cup of coffee. What kind of beverage are you?

If people were beverages

Sometimes you want to be around a certain kind of person, right?

When I’m feeling particularly sad or heartbroken over a situation, I want to sit with “A Cup of Spiced Tea” kind of person. Someone whose aroma is soothing to the soul, whose words are comforting, who revives my spirit with talk of better days ahead.

When I’m frustrated about a wrong done, I want to sit with a “Something With A Kick To It” kind of friend. A friend who can relate to the injustice of it all, who won’t be put off when I get a bit impassioned about the matter, and who might be persuaded shake their fist in empathy with me.

The company of some friends is like adding a touch of “Sweetness” to the room. Their presence takes the edge off circumstances that might otherwise taste bitter.

Other friends are great at bringing harmony and unity to a situation. Like the way “Cream” homogenizes with coffee, so that there is no longer cream + coffee, but one delicious conglomeration.

What kind of beverage are you?

Sometimes I wish I were “A Nice Cup of Tea with Cream and Sugar”. It seems a lot of people prefer those kinds of people to my kind of people. (I know – that’s absolutely not true! But it does feel like that sometimes. Especially in the dating world. Or in business. I just prayed with a woman today who felt out of place in her work environment…”not their cup of tea”.)

But when the rubber meets the road, God made me “A Strong Cup of Coffee“. Not strong as in bitter, and certainly not strong as in “that will put some hair on your chest” kind of strong. (Thank the good Lord for that!!) But I’m not one for a lot of fluff and dancing around the matter. I am a results oriented person, tactful in speech (cream and sugar as needed) but direct. When I counsel someone, I do want to hear their story and their heart, but I also want to get to the part where we pray about some specific actions that can be taken, or Scriptures that can be held to, etc. Folks who know me know that I’m not the one to call if you just want to cry about it on the phone for 2 hours, and then call me tomorrow and cry some more. Those are the extra cream, extra sugar kind of people; which I am not.

“Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts. … For the body itself is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. If the foot were to say, “Because I am not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” that would not keep it from being a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, “Because I am not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” that would not keep it from being a part of the body. If the whole body were just an eye, how could it hear? And if it were only an ear, how could it smell? As it is, however, God put every different part in the body just as he wanted it to be. There would not be a body if it were all only one part! 

1 Corinthians 12:12-19 (GNT, edited)

But if you want someone to come along side you in the battle, encourage you with Scripture, help you get up and dust you off when you fall, and then put the sword back in your hand so you can keep on fighting the good fight of faith … well, yea – that’s kinda the way I roll. (Except on “wobbly” days, then I’m more like flat seltzer).

“As it is, there are many parts but one body. So then, the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Nor can the head say to the feet, “Well, I don’t need you!” On the contrary, we cannot do without the parts of the body that seem to be weaker; and those parts that we think aren’t worth very much are the ones which we treat with greater care; while the parts of the body which don’t look very nice are treated with special modesty, which the more beautiful parts do not need. God himself has put the body together in such a way as to give greater honor to those parts that need it.  And so there is no division in the body, but all its different parts have the same concern for one another. If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it; if one part is praised, all the other parts share its happiness. All of you are Christ’s body, and each one is a part of it.“

1 Corinthians 12:20-27 (GNT)

God is patiently showing me (still, at age 61) that He made me to fit uniquely into the Body of Christ in a way that others can’t … nor can another fill my place. Each one of us is uniquely and delightfully designed by God for a purpose and with a purpose, and His deepest desire is that we would embrace our giftings and offer ourselves back to Him in worship and in service within the Body of Christ.

PRAYER: Lord, help us to stop comparing ourselves to others and trying to be who we are not. Instead, give us a greater awareness of the unique qualities and giftings you have placed within each one of us, and how those giftings fit us into Your Body (the Church) for the purpose of loving God and loving people.

OK, so now it’s your turn. Take a moment and describe yourself as a type of beverage. Are you Sweet? Spicy? Hot? Cold? Bold? WARMING? Organic? Herbal? I’d love to hear what kind of brew you are and why?