Like millions of Americans, you might be familiar with a TV show called The Office.
Even if you’ve never watched it, you’ve probably at least heard of it.
Based on the inner workings of a small fictional paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the show follows the mundane routines of a colorful collection of office workers — Michael, Dwight, Jim, Pam, Angela, Phyllis, Ryan, Kelly, Stanley, Meredith, and Toby — as they go about their daily task of selling paper.
It’s quite the cast, to say the least. But a roster of quirky characters isn’t the only thing that sets The Office apart from other prime time comedies.
The show also uses a unique documentary-style of filming and an unprecedented amount of “cringe humor” (comedy that plays on social awkwardness 🫠)…a combination that ended up creating a sort of middle-class magic that endeared the show to an entire nation for nearly a decade.
With that being said….
It is important to note that despite all of the show’s positive attributes, viewer discretion should be advised due to moments where the humor borders on being more crude than cringe…
…including Michael Scott’s favorite punchline, “That’s what she said.”
If you don’t know what that phrase means, I hate to be the one responsible for marring your innocence — but….for lack of a better definition, let’s just say, it’s a unique phrase able to take even the most innocent conversations out of context and give them a double meaning that’s…well, straight out of the gutter. 😳
With that being said…I wonder if anyone has ever figured out just who “she” is…and what she thinks about all of these people putting words in her mouth!?! 🫢
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And then I thought about Jesus — I know, weird time for Him to pop into my head, but…
Sometimes people do the same thing to Him — putting words in His mouth that don’t belong there.
If there was ever an episode of The Office where Michael Scott conducted a Bible Study the same way he conducts one of his infamous staff meetings, I can only imagine how it would go — unstudied, shooting from the hip as usual, I can imagine him trying to quote scripture, but confusing it with common motivational phrases like:
- “Be true to yourself.”
- “Trust your gut.”
- “Feel good about who you are.”
- “Happiness is what matters.”
- “Just be a good person.”
Then, of course, the camera would pan to Jim, who might facetiously interject something like, “Michael, I think you forgot to mention, ‘Listen to your heart — the heart won’t lie.’”
A shot of Jim and Pam exchanging a humorous glance would be cut short by an sudden outburst from across the room.
And in typical knee-jerk fashion, Dwight Schrute, Assistant to the Regional Manager, would point at Jim and exclaim, “FALSE! The heart is deceitful above all things. Therefore it will lie and you cannot therefore reliably listen to it.”
😂😂😂😂😂😂
To which I would have to say…the man ain’t wrong. 🤷♀️ (Jeremiah 17:9)
Yet, all of those things that Michael said are things we hear in our culture almost everyday…even from Christians!
But NONE of them are what Jesus said.
What Jesus actually said is:
- “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” – Luke 9:23
To put it plainly, oftentimes “being true to ourselves, trusting our gut, putting our own happiness above all else, and simply listening to our heart” are going to be in direct opposition to the things Jesus has commanded.
Therefore, it will be necessary in those moments to deny ourselves, deny our personal happiness, stop listening to our heart/trusting our gut and start listening to and trusting Jesus instead!
We need to be careful not to take His words out of context or to replace His standards with our own.
Otherwise, in our ignorance (willful or not), we might be guilty of confusing culture with Christ.
The only way to prevent that confusion is to actually read the words that Jesus said…in the Bible itself.
And when you do, you’ll have the confidence of knowing, “That’s what HE said.”
Until next time…
-PWAP
