In my hackiest, open mic comedian voice, let me ask these questions: What’s the deal with travel mugs? Shouldn’t we just call them adult sippy cups and go about our business? Whatever you call them, the average American will own a minimum of three dozen or so in their lifetime. They come in all sizes, shapes, composition, and branding. The image above shows the travel mugs, at least the ones I could find, currently taking up space in my cabinets. Quite the eclectic collection, isn’t it? I’m guessing yours is as well. Included in this cornucopia of insulated beverage containers is my latest, acquired just last week. BTW, does anyone buy these things for themselves, do we gather them as gifts, borrow and forget to give back, or did someone leave theirs at our house and we assumed ownership? (That’s how we got the silver FSU mug in the back.) Back to the newest member of my travel mug family, the chrome A3 beauty, also in the back. My friends leased an Audi and I drove them to the dealership, hanging out with them while they signed the paperwork. While they crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s on the 40k automobile, I shrewdly negotiated with the finance person to throw in a $4 mug. That would be wholesale I’m guessing; I didn’t bother to ask how much the dealer was selling them retail. It’s a very nice mug in a couple of ways. It keeps my coffee hot and doesn’t leak. But if I were to list the cons, ala a car magazine review, the screw opening is a bit cumbersome and the thing is too tall!
“Klaus, haf you tried to fit zis travel mug in zee interior cupholder?”
“Nein, Günther, but it is wunderbar, ja?”
Where was I? The point being, I think, is that there is no perfect travel mug. Either the lid leaks, the edge promotes dribbling, the contents cool too quickly, the handle is awkward, or IT WON”T FIT IN THE CUPHOLDER! Even still, a mug that works pretty well for one person won’t for another. Travel mugs, like many things we encounter, are based not on a universally functional platform but on the subjective whims of the designer. As it concerns travel mugs, this is nothing more than a minor inconvenience. The worse that could happen is a stained shirt, a burnt lip, or a tepid cup of joe. But the consequences are dire when we apply the same type of relativism to the principles that guide our society at large and our own lives as individuals. If there are no absolutes, then all “truth” is negotiable, with there being only a subjective or nebulous standard of right and wrong, good or evil, helpful or harmful. The one pure source of absolute truth, the timeless and unchanging measure of all things, is the Bible. In it we read this, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Pro. 16:25) Basing the important matters of life on feelings or opinions can have devastating consequences. But we are also told, in the same book of truth, to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Pro. 3:5-6).
If you need a travel mug, buy one that you like, wait for your birthday, or invite a forgetful friend over for coffee. Live and let live. But when it is a matter of life and death, there is only one truth and one way. (John 14:6). Don’t base your happiness, security, and well being on the shifting sands of human opinion, but on the unshakable, immovable Rock (Psa. 18:2), truth for all people at all times in all places.
(Click “Stand on Firmer Ground” for deeper look into Travel Mugs and Truth.)