I stood my ground (or coffee grounds 😀) I still prefer McD’s coffee.

I walked into work with my ordinary cup of McDonald’s coffee with ten creamers. Not vanilla or hazelnut or any such flavors. Just plain ol’ regular creamers. Ah! I can taste it now as I write.

Someone stopped me in the hall to acknowledge my choice of morning coffee. Bring it on! He quickly let me know he was a successful businessman who sold high end coffees from around the world. I don’t know what the word is, but he was a expert to the experts of coffee (at least he talked that way). He smiled with an amusing glint when I stood my ground (or coffee grounds 😀) I still prefer McD’s coffee. Even now I am rather proud of myself for having done so.

He oddly seemed to enjoy my rebuttal. Instead of looking down his nose at me, he nodded his head as though, he understood. There’s a reason why McDonald’s coffee tastes good… in spite of it being an “F”” grade coffee. (“F” as in lowest grade on the spectrum. Those were his words. Not mine.) I must have looked like a deer in the headlights. He continued. The secret is not in the coffee. It’s in the pots.

He went on to explain how McDonalds has strict standards when it comes to making fresh coffee. Every bit of the old coffee must get emptied. Employees are required to rinse and scrub the inside of the pot until it is completely clean. Only then can they use that same pot to brew new coffee.

Rather than try to convince me of why my coffee was inferior to his, he actually agreed that my plain coffee probably did taste better than some. It wasn’t because of the coffee though. It was the inside of the pot that made the difference.

I could not help but think of the verse in Matthew.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. Matthew 23:25-26

First clean the inside of the cup!

I think of this conversation when I drive through McD’s for my favorite cup of coffee with ten creamers. Usually, I can tell if the pot was cleaned. Every once in a while… well… I can tell that someone did Not clean the pot properly. That’s when my amazing coffee tastes more like an “F” grade.

I especially think of this conversation when I find myself slipping into hypocrisy.

What good is any kind of coffee if it is served from a dirty pot? What good is outward appearance if the inside is unclean?

First clean the inside of the cup, Dear Reader.

Let’s first clean the inside of the cup!

I encourage you to click on the link for the song below, Create In Me Clean Heart, written by Keith Green from Psalm 51. Make it a prayer of your own!

Maybe pour yourself a fresh cup of coffee. Just make sure to scrub the pot and get a clean cup!