James Brown’s song, which he explained in his 1986 autobiography The Godfather of Soul: ‘Talking Loud and Saying Nothing’ was aimed at the people who were running their mouths but had no knowledge of what life was like for a lot of people in this country.

Like a dull knife

Just ain’t cutting

Just talking loud

Then saying nothing

People who are all talk and no action often display eight habits according to some psychologists Isabella Chase, April 9, 2025.

Procrastination-Putting off until tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes due to running out time.

Lack of follow through-Their plans never come to fruition.

Over Confidence– An inflated belief in their activities or the likelihood of positive outcomes.

Excuse making-A justification for every unfilled promise, due to lack of time, inadequate resources, or unexpected circumstances.

Fear of failure– A fear that can paralyze, causing people to retreat into the safety of words rather than risking the potential of disappointment of failure.

Perfectionism– The desire for everything to be perfect can result in never getting started because conditions are never quite right.

Inconsistent behavior– Very enthusiastic and proactive one day and lose interest the next day.

Lack of self-awareness– They may not realize the gap between their words and actions, or how their behavior affects those around them. Not understanding why others might doubt them.

However, scriptures in the Old and New Testament warns against this behavior.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 advises against speaking impulsively before God, urging reverence and thoughtfulness, because God is in heaven and humanity is on earth.

James 1:19 encourages being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, emphasizing that human ager doesn’t achieve God’s righteousness.

Matthew 12:36 warns that people will be held accountable for every careless word they speak on the day of judgement, stressing the importance on intentionality in speech.  

In the 1983 movie Trading places, Upper-Crust executive Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Akyroyd) and down-and-out hustler Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) are the subjects of a bet by successful brokers Mortimer (Don Ameche) and Randolph Dukes (Ralph Bellamy). They bet one dollar.   

An employee of the Dukes, Winthorpe is framed by the brothers for a crime he didn’t commit, with the two then installing the street-smart Valentine in his position. When Winthorpe and Valentine uncover the scheme, they set out to turn the tables on the Dukes.

In real life, very few people get the chance to turn the tables on the people who are playing the game against them. Why? Because one group has been conditioned to believe that there are other groups that are causing the problem.

Shakespeare has a lot to say about power and politics in his plays. “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” The King in Henry IV, Part 2 (3.1.31). At a time of night when most of his subjects are asleep, the king is up and busy about his affairs.

Shakespeare’s quotes on life are as relevant to twenty-first-century audiences as they were to sixteenth-century ones. The late actor, John Candy said, “When you find something that works, you keep doing it. “

We think we’re relating to other people–but actually we’re all playing games. Forty years ago, Games People Play revolutionized our understanding of what really goes on during our most basic social interactions. More than five million copies later, Dr. Eric Berne’s classic is as astonishing–and revealing–as it was on the day it was first published.

Explosive when it first appeared, Games People Play is now widely recognized as the most original and influential popular psychology book of our time. It’s as powerful and eye-opening as ever.

Scriptures warn us about the games people play. There will be “A Day of Reckoning” where people are held accountable for their lives.

 2 Corinthians 4:2 Encourages believers to be open and truthful, refusing to “play games” or use masks, living with pure motives rather than deceit.

1 Timothy 4:8 Highlights that while physical training (like sports) has some value, godliness is far more important for this life and the next, warning against misplaced priorities.

Romans 12:2 Urges believers not to conform to worldly patterns, which includes the competitive or deceptive “games” of the world, but to be transformed by renewing their minds.

In essence, Scripture uses “games” as a metaphor for life’s challenges and disciplines, encouraging focus, rule-following, and honest living, while warning against the hollow pursuits of worldly games and chance.

Refers to the unjust application of different sets of principles for similar situations. It’s when one group is allowed more leniency or privilege, while another group is judged more harshly for the same behavior. This unequal treatment often arises from biases and can lead to unfair judgments and discrimination.

Some examples of double standards have been practiced for so long that society has on the one hand accepted them, although knowing that they are blatant, economically devastating, and has hurt generations of groups; more so than others. Even the constitution has helped.

The late R&B legend Betty Wright, 1968 stated one plainly, in Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do:  

When you put your faith in one guy

Sometimes he’ll make you happy

Sometimes he’ll make you cry

But don’t lose your self-respect

Trying to get revenge

Cause no matter how you do it

Girls, you can’t do what the guys do, no

And still be a lady, no

The authors below, mention 15 examples of double standards, but I will only mention six:

Fathers’ vs Mothers: Fathers are praised for cooking dinner every now and then, while women are expected to do it all the time, without any praise.

Parenting: If women work outside the home while their children are growing up, they are sometimes seen as unfit mothers, as abandoning their “duties”. Men on the other hand, whether they work or not are praised for doing things that are simply expected of mothers.

Gendered Professions: A man who wants to be a nurse is ridiculed while a woman who wants to be a nurse is encouraged (and vice versa for other professions).

Sons’ vs Daughters: A father who allows his 16-year-old son to stay out until midnight but doesn’t let his daughter go out past 10 pm. Using the excuse of safety concerns.

Elites get away with it: A politician who conscripts working-class men to go to battle, but makes exceptions for the sons of the elites.

Assertive Women: Assertive women are seen as ‘bossy’ while assertiveness for men is often seen as a positive leadership trait.

Written by Dalia Yashinsky (MA, Phil) August 20, 2023   Reviewed by Chris Drew PhD).

According to Ecclesiastes (3: 1), to everything there is a season. The wise person understands that lives have their natural cycles, which include “a time to break down and a time to build up. “A time to laugh and a time to mourn, a time to get and a time to lose.”

According to the Book, all people must respect divine timing since life remains outside human control. The Teacher comforts us through his belief that everything has its proper season and heaven assigns its own time for all purposes (Ecclesiastes, 3:11).

Life’s meaning, combined with the pursuit of happiness and the constraints of human wisdom, stands as the Book’s central focus. The Book’s opening starts with someone identified as the Preacher, who says, ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity’ (1:2), indicating that human achievements are short-lived.

Happiness pursued through worldly means remains forever useless, according to Ecclesiastes. Throughout his search for meaning in wisdom, pleasure, and hard work, the Teacher discovers that ‘everything is ‘chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:11). But he accumulated great wealth, sought entertainment, erected awesome structures, and was not contented.

This Book was written during ancient Israel’s reign, probably during a time of prosperity and intellectual growth, King Solomon’s reign. They valued wisdom literature that guided the Israelites to live righteous lives.

Today, many still chase glitter the stuff that money can buy, fame and luxury, and then feel empty. The Book says that true contentment is not in external accomplishments and the focus on them; rather, it lies in a life centered on God.

However, there is one difference between Ecclesiastes and other wisdom books: Ecclesiastes offers a skeptical view of human efforts, and there is meaning only ultimately from God. Since God has been left out of many individuals lives, who is left to turn too?

The Book of Ecclesiastes holds excellent importance in biblical records because it reveals the human desire for meaning and proves the necessity of having a relationship with God. We continue to receive hints to return but so far, the hints have been ignored. Perhaps next year.

The poetic segment mentions that human existence follows a cycle of birth and death, planting and harvesting, and mourning and dancing. According to the Book, all people must respect divine timing since life remains outside human control.

The Teacher comforts us through his belief that everything has its proper season and heaven assigns its own time for all purposes (Ecclesiastes, 3:11). Such truth should prompt believers to rest their lives in God’s divine rule instead of being consumed by uncertainties.

Is a soul song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. It was originally recorded by the Temptations in 1971, re-recorded by the Undisputed Truth the same year. It reminds us that “smiling faces show no traces of the evil that lurks within.”

Paul Ekman (2003) identifies seven universal emotions (anger, fear, disgust, sadness, happiness, surprise, and contempt) that have distinct, recognizable facial expressions across cultures that can be used to differentiate between voluntary (deceptive) and involuntary (natural) facial expressions.

The natural smile, for example, uses around 20 muscles. Liars have problems managing all these and their expressions may seem somehow false. Natural expressions tend to be more symmetrical (balanced), while deliberate expressions are more asymmetrical (looks fake).

Very brief, fleeting expressions (or micro-expressions) are a strong giveaway. If it is hard for a liar to fake individual expressions, it is far harder to shape multiple simultaneous emotions. How-ever, if you watch while you listen, you might notice that some have perfected the art.  

Facial expressions have a ‘trajectory’ of gradually appearing, peaking and fading. In natural expressions this will be a smooth process. In deliberate expression, it will be more jagged or offset, with more sudden changes.

Although natural emotions can appear quickly, they take more time to cool down and fade. Lying is hard work! The liar has to think carefully about what to say as well as how to express it. There are scriptures that remind us that we should be aware of smiling faces.

Proverbs 26:24-26: Warns that a deceitful person may hide their true intentions behind a pleasant demeanor.

Jeremiah 9:4-5: Highlights that friends may deceive one another, showing that not all smiles are genuine.

Matthew 7:15: Advises to beware of false prophets who come in sheep’s clothing, indicating hidden dangers behind a friendly facade.

Psalm 55:21: Describes how smooth words can mask a treacherous heart, emphasizing the contrast between appearance and reality.

Proverbs 29:5: States that a flattering person spreads a net for others, illustrating the danger of deceptive charm.

James 3:14-16: Warns against bitter envy and selfish ambition, which can lead to disorder and falsehood, even among those who appear friendly.

Some Psychologists say the conscience is defined as that part of the human psyche that induces mental anguish and feelings of guilt when we violate it, and feelings of pleasure and well-being when our actions, thoughts and words are in conformity to our value systems.

Many people believe that the conscience was given to us to help us make decisions between right and wrong. A famous theologian says that is a false assumption! The conscience will only resist any deviation from the truth, or the right and the wrong, it knows.

The Greek word translated “conscience” in all New Testament Bible references is suneidēsis, meaning “moral awareness” or “moral consciousness.” The conscience reacts when one’s actions, thoughts, and words conform to, or are contrary to, a standard of right and wrong.

If you start to do something the Bible says is a sin, your conscience will rise up and tell you to stop. If, on the other hand, you have been raised to believe that there are no limits in life and you can do as you please, your conscience will not give you any problems.

Another reference to conscience in the New Testament is to a conscience that is “seared” or rendered insensitive as though it had been cauterized with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:1-2). Such a conscience is hardened and calloused, no longer feeling anything.

The Bible speaks of a seared conscience in 1 Timothy 4:2. The conscience is the God-given moral consciousness within each of us (Romans 2:15). If the conscience is “seared”—literally “cauterized”—then it has been rendered insensitive. Such a conscience does not work properly.

Paul identifies those who have a seared conscience in 1 Timothy 4:1–2: “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

I believe, some are of the mindset of the late Johnnie Taylor, in his hit song Running Out of Lies.  “When I try to go to sleep at night, I can hear my conscience say, I need to change, but I made a deal with my conscience, if my conscience doesn’t bother me, I won’t bother my conscience. “

A person with a seared conscience no longer listens to its promptings, and he or she can sin with abandon, delude him or herself into thinking all is well with her/his soul, and treat others insensitively and without compassion.

I also believe as a sane human being, especially if you call yourself a Christian, we are to keep our consciences clear by obeying God and keeping our relationship with Him in good standing. One might ask, “How do I do this with so many thoughts and experts telling me different thing?”

We do this by the application of His Word, renewing and softening our hearts continually.