My Mind Is Playing Tricks On Me

Proverbs 23:33:

"Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities."

Today's Episode: My Mind Is Playing Tricks on Me

Back in the 90’s the Geto Boys gave us a song you could ride to all day long and still get uneasy when you paid attention to the lyrics!

“My Mind is Playing Tricks on Me.”

In Bushwick Bill’s verse, he imagines a Halloween outing that turns into a fight with a strange old man. Then the figure disappears. So do his companions. It wasn’t even Halloween.

He’s alone, with injured hands. He’s been beating the concrete.

The enemy wasn’t there. But the wounds were.

Proverbs 23:33 in the Berean Standard Bible says,

Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities.

The surrounding passage describes the downside of alcoholism: confused perception, unexplained injuries, and the urge to reach for another drink. Wisdom is showing us what happens when addiction interrupts reality.

And here’s the wider question I hear: what else have we allowed to interrupt our reality?

Resentment can make an innocent question sound like disrespect.

Ego can hear helpful correction as somebody trying to take your crown.

Baby, nobody came for your crown. They asked you to move your car.

But we’ve already recruited our whole body and soul into the argument. Shoulders tight. Voice raised. Words coming to mind and flying out of our mouth with no filter and no real excuse why we’ve gone ham.

The most dangerous distortions are the ones we’ve renamed as ‘normal’.

That brings me to the story of Jacob wrestling through the night. Genesis calls his opponent a man. Jacob says he encountered God. Hosea describes an angel.

I also see a picture of Jacob wrestling with himself in that encounter. That’s my contemplative reading; the text doesn’t identify the opponent as Jacob’s inner self…but…it wasn’t even Halloween…right?

Still, it leaves me asking: who—or what—are you really fighting?

Is the person or circumstance in front of you responsible for everything you’re feeling? Or has this moment stirred up an older unresolved hurt?

That hurt deserves care. We can seek support while taking responsibility for what we do with it.

Before you swing, send, or speak, take a breath and ask yourself if your mind is just playing tricks on you.

🔥 REMEMBER

A distorted mind can invent an enemy and leave you carrying real wounds from an imaginary fight.

🙏🏽 PRAYER

God, clear my vision and guide my responses with love.

🎯 TODAY’S CHALLENGE

Before answering one upsetting message, write two lines: “What they actually said” and “What I assumed.” Read them to someone you trust before deciding how to respond.

About the Author

Fred Lynch is a creative communicator, author, and Christian Hip Hop pioneer. To learn more about Fred and what he’s up to now…click here or you can find him in all the socials by searching the handle: heyfredlynch

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