Read Numbers 6:1-21 and you'll discover the requirements of a Nazirite vow.

What draws me to this vow is that it's a completely voluntary form of worship that incorporates both the mind and the body in an act of worship. Samson, in Judges 13, was decreed by the angel of the Lord to be a Nazirite from birth, but for the rest of Israel, this vow was a way of showing special devotion for a particular period of time.

The three major attributes of a Nazirite vow are:

1 - don't eat or drink anything that comes from the vine;
2 - no hair-cutting
3 - no going near dead bodies.

These three concepts seem pretty foreign, right? No salon-visits? No wine with dinner or Welch's grape juice? No funerals? But the principles are astoundingly clear:

1 - Sacrifice: be sober and set apart from the daily routine. This isn't just about not getting drunk; it's about abstaining from an every-day habit in order to remember one's dependence on God.
2 - Glory: glorify God. Did you know that in the Ancient Near East, those who made vows actually CUT their hair? Yahweh goes in the opposite direction and says, "your vow to me will be displayed in the glory of your hair." He makes a similar mandate for fields that were to lie unused for a period of time (see Leviticus 20:23).
3 - Holiness: In Mosaic law, the dead were ritually unclean. This must have been a sacrifice for many who may have had family members pass away. But the Lord makes a way out for them in Numbers 6:9-12. Unfortunately, death is such a part of life in a fallen world, that the Lord sees fit to make provision.


In trying to relate to Samson, and to understand and relate to the principles behind the Nazirite vow, I began to examine my own life and habits.

Some people crave alcohol. Others, shopping. My drug of choice? Coffee. Did I need a morning pick-me-up? Ethiopian Sidamo to the rescue. An mid-morning beverage. Mmm, the local house blend. Afternoon feeling a little sluggish? Central American citrusy cheer hit the spot. I was so enamored – and dependent – on coffee to alter my energy and mood that I forsook the basic ways to boost my energy, namely, sleep, good nutrition, and exercise.

I’m not railing against coffee (I love it too much), or people who drink it. But for me, coffee was not a beverage; it was a relationship. A controlling one. I had an unhealthy dependence on it for alertness, creativity, vigor. When I didn’t have coffee, withdrawal became my excuse for rudeness, sluggishness, and lack of productivity.

One day I decided that as an act of sacrifice, glory, and holiness, I would cull my java habit. I won’t say it was easy or pleasurable at first. Somehow, though, the withdrawal, the ache at catching a whiff of brewing bliss, reminded me that my commitment could overshadow my urge if I just let it run its course. I, whining and weakly, let God’s brilliant power to spark life seep into the places I had developed an unhealthy caffeine addiction.

Do I drink coffee now? Yes! But instead of indulging in 2-3 cups a day, I have 2-3 cups per month.

Consider it a modern-day Nazirite vow.