Coffee doesn't always destroy your stomach lining.
It's been said that when you drink coffee on an empty stomach that it can damage your stomach lining eventually and cause indigestion and even heartburn.
I've personally never had that problem and have drank some coffee while my stomach was empty because I like a cup of coffee while I'm making my breakfast.
If you have indigestion or heartburn then you might want to avoid drinking coffee while your stomach is empty because the coffee could damage your stomach lining and aggravate your indigestion and heartburn.
But the stomach lining damage would take several years to actually happen if you continually drink coffee on an empty stomach.
However I've never had a problem with that but you have to do so at your own risk.