What Dwight Schrute Taught Me About God's Spirit

Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute

One of my favorite TV shows is The Office, which follows the happenings of a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. While this is the premise of the program, the intrigue builds because of personality conflicts arising between ridiculous characters. Whether it is the complete ineptitude of the boss, the absurd love interests of several office employees, or the anger management issues of working in a dying industry, this show is not really about paper, but about the characters.

The most ridiculous of the ridiculous characters is a particularly quirky paper seller named Dwight Schrute, who runs a beet farm on the side. In one episode Dwight who often falls over himself trying to do good deeds actually acts heroically. He protects his long time office rival Jim Halpert from being beat up by another employee. Dwight springs into action unleashing pepper spray in the eyes of the would-be attacker. Jim proceeds to spend the rest of the episode trying to repay Dwight for his noble deed. Dwight though will not accept any payment for his action. For all his quirkiness Dwight believes that doing the right thing is done because it is the right thing, and not because he will receive a reward for it. Sometimes I can be like Jim in my relationship with God. Once I receive God’s graciousness, I attempt to pay God back by “being good,” “praying harder,” or giving more to charity.

In today’s lesson from the Acts of the Apostles, Peter and John went to Samaria once they heard that the people there received the word of God. The disciples journeyed to this land to pray for the Holy Spirit to come among the Samaritans to fully mark their baptism. During this mission a man named Simon observed the disciples’ work, and he offered them money in exchange for power. Simon essentially wanted to barter with God to receive the ability to pass on the Holy Spirit.

Peter responds quickly and firmly, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God's gift with money!” Peter tells Simon that he is missing the point. One cannot buy God’s gift with money. God’s love is not about an exchange of money, or praise, nor is it about power. God’s Spirit is a gift to us.

Peter and John did not go to Samaria so that they might make a few extra pieces of silver. We are not expected to do good things so that we will get paid for them, nor are we able to buy more spiritual gifts through some monetary system. We are freely given God’s gifts of the Spirit because our God is a God of Abundance not scarcity. We have no strings attached to God's gifts. We are not required to pay God back. We don’t have to give God a certain amount of praise. Instead, God invites us to turn our hearts over to God to allow for God’s Spirit to free us, to shape us into who God intends us to be, and to give us the gifts that God shares with us. God calls us to freely give to others, to do God's will because that is what we are called to do, and not to exchange money for spiritual gifts. For God is a God of overabundance!