Most of my inspiration for these blogs come from everyday life. The other day I heard someone say, “the writing is on the wall.” And just then I realized… wait, I’ve heard that before.
Not just in movies. Not just in dramatic break up conversations. Not just when someone’s fantasy football season is clearly over. I’ve heard that before in the Bible. And that got me thinking, how much of our everyday language is actually Scripture? English is practically marinated in biblical phrases. We say things like “go the extra mile,” “a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” “the blind leading the blind,” and “you reap what you sow,” and without realizing we’re echoing words written thousands of years ago. Take “the writing on the wall.” This appears in Daniel 5, when a mysterious hand literally wrote a message of judgment during a royal banquet. Daniel 5:5 NIV says, “Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall.” Imagine hosting a dinner party and that happens. Suddenly your catering choices are no longer the main concern, haha.
Or consider “by the skin of my teeth.” That phrase shows up in Job 19:20 NIV: “I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth.” Poor Job endured so much suffering that his words became the official idiom for barely surviving anything from traffic to toddler tantrums.
Then there’s “you reap what you sow.” Galatians 6:7 NIV puts it simply: “A man reaps what he sows.” It’s farming language, sure, but it’s also life language. Plant bitterness, harvest bitterness. Plant kindness, harvest kindness. The principle hasn’t aged a day.
What fascinates me most, though, is how many of our common sayings come directly from the teachings of Jesus. “Go the extra mile” comes from Matthew 5:41 NIV: “If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” In a time when Roman soldiers could legally make someone carry their gear, Jesus challenged people not just to comply, but to willingly go beyond what was required. That’s not weakness; that’s radical strength.
Or “the blind leading the blind.” Matthew 15:14 NIV says, “If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” It’s vivid. It’s memorable. And somehow, still extremely relevant to group projects and internet advice.
And we can’t forget “turn the other cheek.” Matthew 5:39 NIV says, “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” When Jesus said that, He wasn’t encouraging passivity. He was dismantling cycles of retaliation and pride. That teaching still stretches us today.
Even “pride comes before a fall” echoes Proverbs 16:18 NIV: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” It’s ancient wisdom with very modern application. Social media alone could serve as Exhibit A. What amazes me is that the Bible hasn’t just shaped churches; it has shaped language itself. Its words have slipped into our headlines, our novels, our conversations, and even our jokes. People quote Scripture without even realizing they’re doing it. You don’t have to be a theologian to quote the Bible. You just have to speak English. And maybe that’s part of the beauty of it. The words of Jesus and the wisdom of Scripture have endured not just because they are old,
but because they speak to something timeless in us: our pride, our hope, our failures, our longing for grace. So, the next time someone casually says, “the writing is on the wall,” you can smile and say to yourself, “They’re quoting the Bible.”
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