The Oreo

Lately, Teagan and I have been on the paleo diet. That is referring to the paleolithic time period, back when we didn't have the readily available processed foods. The theory behind the diet is to get back to our homosapien roots; back to the kind of foods our body really needs and can more easily process. That being said, the diet definitely does not allow for oreos. It definitely does not allow for birthday cake flavored ones either.

At work, the women that I work with will sometimes bring snacks for everyone to share. They will bring anything from trail mix to twizzlers, and it all goes on a shelf for us all snack on periodically throughout our day (working at a bank has it's perks!). This week, one of the women that I closely work with brought birthday cake oreos. I had eyed the decadent cookies a few times in passing, but I wanted to remain faithful to the diet that Teagan and I were on. "No oreos", I thought upon seeing them.

So I didn't eat them. But then as I went to sit down, my coworker informs me of the oreos.
"I put some oreos out there if you want them!" She continues, "I got them for my family, but we though they tasted to different from the normal oreos. They're birthday cake. Try one and let me know what you think!"

In that moment, my mind thought about the diet. Teagan already knew that I had still been having burritos on my lunch because of the convenience, even though the tortillas are not paleo. He was fine with it and had never expected me to fully follow the strict diet with him. None the less, I still wanted to abstain where he was abstaining in order to give him the best chance of succeeding. My initial thought told me to say, "no".

But then, my mind thought of the fact that I wanted to have better relationships with people. My mind went to the possible affect that sounding pompous, throwing a word like "paleo" around, and saying no to one stinking cookie could have. Was I willing to come across as possibly rude and stuck up? Was I willing to sacrifice possibly becoming friends with someone that might need a person who knows Jesus in their life for encouragement and possible salvation?

Okay, so maybe that's a but much. My mind likes to run away on tangents sometimes, that much is clear. But what could be the real "oreos" in our lives? We all work with and interact with people that God has placed into our lives so that we might be a bright light to them. We could be the absolutely one and only chance that they have to see the light of Jesus. But are we turning a nose up to even the smallest gestures that might not line exactly up with our "paleo diets"?

I am in no way suggesting that we should compromise and do something that we believe to be immoral. But when interacting with someone that you believe God has placed in your life, we must be sure that we don't cross the line from Jesus fanatic (yay Jesus!) to 10 commandments' snob (boo other people). Jesus himself ate with sinners and was criticized heavily for it by the pharisees. But we know that he also never sinned.

We should not necessarily seek out company that is negative with the plans of making them close friends. Jesus had twelve close friends, and they followed him, learning from his teachings daily. But he also did not act snobby like the religious leaders of that day and reject the offers from known "sinners" (as if the pharisees did not sin) to come and dine with them.

One of the best ways that we can spread the gospel is not through the retelling of Jesus story through words, but through our actions. That is not to say that there is not power in the retelling of the gospel, but our relationship with others can deeply affect weather or not they are receptive to coming to Christ when the right time comes. If we are sincere about caring for others, it will reflect in our actions. Those around us will feel welcomed in your presence rather than condemned. They will feel your compassion rather than your religion.

I would never condone sinning to keep an acquaintance or friend. That is not what I wish to convey. But there is a way to treat someone that will make them feel less like a spiritual roadblock or a spiritual checkbox, and more like an actual person worthy of mutual respect. And let's face it, into every diet some oreos must fall.