I’m Pavielle and welcome back to another episode of The Purpose Collective Podcast. We’re towards the end of our Bible Foundations series and this one is a bit…let’s say different lol. I’m gonna start by asking you a question.
Have you ever heard a saying in the hood or from one of your friends and thought, “Dang, that’s deep”? Stuff like “you reap what you sow,” or “laugh now, cry later.” Maybe even “only God can judge me.”
We throw these lines around all the time. They’re in rap lyrics, everyday conversation, even on T-shirts. But here’s what most people don’t realize—a lot of those so-called ‘ghetto sayings’ actually come straight from the Bible.
Yep! The streets have been quoting and referencing Scripture without even knowing it. Some of that street wisdom is biblical truth in disguise.
The Bible is full of real-life, gritty, raw truth. It talks about betrayal, loyalty, poverty, power, justice—it’s got all the same stuff the streets deal with every day. So it makes sense that the culture picked up on those messages and turned them into sayings that hit hard and stick.
This episode is all about connecting the dots. Taking those sayings you’ve heard your whole life and showing you where they really come from—not from TikTok, not from the streets, but from a book… the Bible.
So if you’ve ever caught yourself saying something like, “what goes around comes around,” or “speak it into existence,”you might be surprised to learn that you’re quoting ancient truth. God’s Word has been woven into the culture more than we realize. And maybe, just maybe, recognizing that might open up a new way to look at the Bible.
I can’t believe this was highlighted to me during my quiet time, but it was, so here we are lol. We’re going to break these sayings down, one by one.
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Hood Saying #1
Up first is the saying, “Playing in my face.” Ok, so, according to Urban Dictionary.com, when someone is playing in a person’s face, they are “Feigning ignorance while being blatantly disrespectful; they are. insulting someone’s intelligence. It’s more than just disrespect—it’s about intentionally crossing a line like they don’t care how the other person feels..
Alright, so now you’re probably wondering where this shows up in the Bible. It appears in Isaiah 65. Just to provide some context here, the Israelites were in full on rebellion against God. They had begun praying and crying out to God, basically asking Him not to be angry with them anymore. Chapter 65 is where God responds. Here’s what He says starting at verse 2:
“All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people.
But they follow their own evil paths
and their own crooked schemes.
All day long they insult me to my face
by worshiping idols in their sacred gardens.
They burn incense on Pagan altars.”
– Isaiah 65:2-3, NLT
Whew. God was calling the Israelites out for doing wrong right in front of Him. They knew better—but they continued worshipping false gods. That’s “playing in God’s face.”
So when you say that phrase? You’re echoing how God feels when we wild out and act like He ain’t watching. That saying is more than slang—it’s essence is a sentiment God expressed in Scripture.
Ready for the next one?
Hood Saying #2
We all know this one—it’s tattooed on arms, quoted in songs, written on T-shirts. The saying is, “Live by the gun, die by the gun.”
According to Urban Dictionary, this phrase is used to describe the truism that you increase the probability of dying violently when you choose to live a life of violence. It’s a warning. If violence is how you move, violence is how it’ll end. But did you know Jesus said something almost identical?
In Matthew 26:52, when one of His disciples pulled a sword to defend Him, Jesus said: “Put your sword back in its place… for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” – Matthew 26:52, NIV
That’s not just a wise quote—that’s Jesus dropping truth in real time. He was showing that cycles of violence don’t save us. They trap us. So that phrase? It’s not just street wisdom. It’s a biblical truth. Jesus was warning us before the streets ever said it.
Hood Saying #3
You’ve also seen this next saying on tattoos and maybe even some Facebook posts back in the early 2000s.. The saying is “Laugh now, cry later,” which is the idea that people might be having fun now—but they’re gonna pay for it later and guess what? Jesus said it first.
Luke 6:25 says …Woe to you who are now laughing, for you will mourn and weep.
Jesus wasn’t being cold—He was calling out self-satisfied and indulgent people who were living wild, ignoring truth, meanwhile laughing the whole time like it’s all a joke. He was saying: don’t get too comfortable if your joy and fulfillment is built on foolishness.
So when someone says “laugh now, cry later,” they are echoing a warning straight from the mouth of Jesus.
Hood Saying #4
This next saying is gone hit if your momma didn’t play lol. Ok so the saying is “Mind your business.” Classic. According to Urban Dictionary, this saying is used when someone is interfering with your thoughts, actions, choices or point of view. To mind your business is to focus on your own stuff.
Honestly, in the hood, it’s really survival advice. Stay outta mess, and you’ll stay outta trouble. This shows up in 1 Thessalonians 4:11 which says: “Seek to live a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands.” (CSB)
That’s straight from the Apostle Paul. The Bible’s not about being nosy or messy— it’s about staying focused, staying low, and handling your business. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do in that moment is mind your business.
Hood Saying #5
This next one is another one that’s gonna hit, okay, it’s gone if your momma didn’t play lol. The saying is, “I’ll knock the teeth out your mouth.” You don’t get much more hood than that as a parent. It’s a threat and what it communicates is listen, I’m not about to play with you. Ok. I’m not playing with you.
But did you know that David said a version of this same thing in the Bible? In Psalm 58:6, He said:
“God, knock the teeth out of their mouths….” He was not playing lol. David was asking God to deal with wicked people who were acting unjustly and oppressing others. He was basically asking God to shut ‘em up permanently.
So the next time you hear that line, remember: it was first used as a form of righteous anger in the Bible. The Bible got bars too.
Hood Saying #6
Ready for the next one? The next saying is “Money talks.” We use this phrase to mean that cheap talk will get you nowhere, while money will persuade people to do what you want. This isn’t quite the context it’s used in scripture but the concept that money speaks is in James 5:4. In the amplified version it says:
“Look! The wages that you have [fraudulently] withheld from the laborers who have mowed your fields are crying out [against you for vengeance]…” – James 5:4, AMP
The money was crying out against the people who had it. James is saying: yeah, money does talk and God hears what the money isn’t saying too. He hears injustice, greed, and exploitation.
So when we say “money talks,”know that Scripture is saying too but for a different reason.
Hood Saying #7
Ok, so, the next saying is one that people often use to show exclusivity in some way, shape, or form. The saying is: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” That’s not just some deep quote—it’s word-for-word from Jesus in Matthew 22:14.
It means a lot of people get the invitation from God, but not everyone shows up right and will be selected. This exact text has been perverted by people to fit their own agenda, but when you hear someone say it, you will now know exactly where it came from.
Alright, I’m going to breeze through number eight and nine, then take my time with number ten because it’s my personal favorite given the story it’s connected to.
Hood Saying #8
Saying number eight is, “There is nothing new under the sun.” I bet you thought your grandmother came up with that one didn’t you? Lol. This phrase is often wrongly attributed to Shakespeare, who used a similar line as the opening of one of his sonnets. But the phrase actually comes from the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes 1:9, which explains “that which is done is that which shall be done, and there is no new thing under the Sun.”
Hood Saying #9
Number 9 is “by the skin of your teeth.” According to Urban Dictionary, this saying means something was done by a very narrow margin. In Job 19:20, after losing his family, his wealth, and even his health, Job says: “I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth.”
Hood Saying #10
The last saying I will cover is the phrase, “the writing on the wall.” According to the Urban Dictionary, this phrase refers to “When something is made clear, usually something bad. It signifies figuring something out by reading between the lines of the situation. A realization that – once made – would be foolish to ignore.” When someone says “I saw the writing on the wall,” they mean they saw the warning signs. They knew something bad was coming.
That phrase is Straight outta Daniel 5. And it is one of my absolute favorite stories in the Bible.
Okay. So let me give you some context. King Belshazzar was the king of Babylon and he was out of control. On the night of this text, he was in the middle of throwing a party and while under the influence of wine, he made his servants go get sacred gold and silver cups that had come from God’s temple In Jerusalem.
Not only was he and his friends drinking wine out of the sacred cups, but he had his concubines drinking from them too, and on top of that they were praising their false gods.
Suddenly, a mysterious hand appears and writes a cryptic message on the wall that no one there understands. The king literally turns pale and pisses his pants. His knees even started knocking together. Can you imagine being in a night club and a giant hand appears and starts writing on a wall? This is the kind of atmosphere they are in at this party.
The message written by the mysterious hand is four words. The first two words are the same word twice. The king asks all of his magicians, diviners, and wise men to interpret the message on the wall but they can’t. The king got even more terrified. Finally, someone suggests he call Daniel. Daniel comes and tells the king that not only will he read the message to him which no one could do, but he also told the king that he would interpret the message for him.
Daniel proceeds to read the king for filth by breaking down all of the shenanigans that he and his friends engaged in while at that party. A party that Daniel did not attend lol, but the Holy Spirit told him what was going on.
Then, Daniel interpreted the message that was written on the wall. The recount of this whole ordeal is in Daniel 5:25-28, CSB. He told the king that the first two words, “means that God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. The third word means that you have been weighed on the balance and found deficient. The last word means that your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes (meads) and Persians.”
Translation? “Your time is up. Judgment is here.” He ignored the signs, and it cost him everything. The king ended up being killed that same night.
So when people use that phrase today, they’re pulling from one of the most chilling moments in the Bible.
This just goes to show that with everyday conversations, a lot of ‘em didn’t just come from the culture—they came from the Scriptures.
It just proves something powerful: God’s Word is already in some aspects of our everyday lives. It’s been there. The truth has a way of slipping into our language, our stories, our survival—even when we don’t realize it.
Some of the same wisdom we use to navigate life and stay sharp… a lot of it came from God first. So the Bible isn’t some distant, outdated book—it’s actually been speaking our language this whole time.
This further goes to show that the things we say and believe have an origin. A lot of the sayings and concepts I mentioned in this episode as being from the Bible originated in heaven.
Just like a statement can originate in heaven and make its way onto someone’s lips and eventually into the Bible and in culture today, please know that there are sayings and concepts that originate from the kingdom of darkness.
Keep your ears open and the next time someone says some kind of catchy phrase, ask yourself: is this some hood saying or is that Scripture?
Spoiler: it might be both.
This is where scripture memorization can be helpful, because if you remember some versus or even some of the stories in the Bible, then you’ll be able to spot it. If memorizing scripture is an area you want some tools for, then meet me over in the next episode.
Want More?
If you enjoyed this episode, then you may also enjoy the episode of the show about the fear of success and how it hinders purpose or this episode detailing what to expect when operating in your purpose.
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