You’ve heard of professional hazards, right? How about eating?

The Germans have an afternoon custom they call "Kaffee und Kuchen". The translation for "Kaffee" is self-evident, and by looking at the picture you can determine what the word "Kuchen" means. On Sundays, holidays and other days when company comes around it is standard procedure to have coffee and cake. And how the Germans love their cake! They make all kinds of cake, and their bakers are quite good. So when you have a social gathering in a public place, there are often several different types of cake to choose from. Over the years it has been determined that tooth decay among bakers is somewhat of a professional hazard. The fine wheat flour they are exposed to all the time during their work eventually promotes more than "normal" tooth decay, so over here it can happen that a baker may receive extra financial assistance from his health insurance provider for dental work.

How about having coffee and cake as a professional hazard? As a minister I often visit people in the afternoon when coffe and cake are served, or we have a small group of widows who get together for coffee and cake. Of course, it would be considered very impolite for me to refuse to partake. Following the example set by the apostle Paul of not giving offense, I join in when coffee and cake are served. If you do this once in a while, it won’t matter, especially if your diet is balanced and you are getting sufficient exercise. If in answering the call of duty you are expected to have coffee and cake on a regular basis, then perhaps you can reach the point where it becomes a professional hazard. I don’t think I have reached that point yet. If I had to choose a professional hazard, though, this wouldn’t be the worst one among the options, eh? 🙂

Comment from Jim Cowell:

Relative to the "Kaffee und Kuchen" job hazard: just remember that "a waist is a terrible thing to mind." (Or was that expression originally "a mind is a terrible thing to waste"? Oh well, either rendering is probably true!)