Don’t Let Your “Head” – Get Inside Your Head
Photo by Joey Kyber on Unsplash
Playing the game of failure, professional baseball players learn to be resilient at an early age. They learn to forget, to reset their “hard drive,” to move on. They know that they may be the hero at any moment, and the next, they may be the goat (in the past, players who made critical and costly errors were referred to as “goats”).
One of the greatest tragedies in Major League Baseball history is the story of Donnie Moore. In-game 5 of the 1986 American League Championship Series; with the California Angels leading the series against the Boston Red Sox three games to one, Angels’ pitcher Donnie Moore was called on to get the final out that would send the Angels to their first World Series.
Donnie faced Dave Henderson, a bench warmer with a low batting average, presumed to be an easy out. He battled Henderson to a two-ball – 2 strike count; Henderson then fouled off two split-fingered fastballs. Then, on Moore’s seventh pitch, he “hung” an off-speed splitter. Henderson jumped on the poorly pitched ball, driving it eight rows deep into the left-field seats of Anaheim Stadium giving Boston a 6-5 lead. The Angels tied the game in the bottom of the 9th inning only to lose in the 12th. Being deflated, the Angels went on to lose the last two games as the series moved to Boston.
At the time, Donnie Moore was one of the best “closers” in baseball. Unfortunately, Donnie Moore would become known as “The Man Who Threw ‘The Pitch'” that kept the California Angels out of the 1986 World Series. He was the “goat.” The media massacred Donnie, and Angels fans turned against him, booing and jeering him and his wife for the next two years. Donnie Moore never stopped blaming himself; he never reset his “hard drive,” and the media & fans would never let him forget.
After that fateful day in October, everything fell apart for Donnie; injuries plagued him, his marriage was in shambles with his wife Tonya leaving him. His career was failing; he was traded, sent to the minor leagues, and eventually released, creating a significant financial burden. Sadly, on July 18, 1989, after an argument with his estranged wife, he shot her in front of their children; moments later, Donnie put the gun to his head and committed suicide in front of his two young boys. Fortunately, Tonya Moore survived the incident.
Photo from Wikipedia
The issues faced by Donnie Moore are similar to the problems First Responders are facing. We do face failure, more than one would think. For over a year, the media and public have crucified us; our government officials no longer support us, we’ve been physically and mentally attacked. We work long, irregular hours, straining our relationships. Anger, anxiety, depression, and hypervigilance set in. We become burned out, stressed out, discouraged, and embittered, opening the door to suicidal ideation, letting our “Head” get inside our head.
Living in your head, buried in your thoughts, can be a distraction, wreaking havoc on your life. Living in your head is controlling, preventing you from living a life of purpose. When you live in your “head,” you withdraw from reality; you’re constantly analyzing your situation. You want to “figure it out,” you want satisfaction, you lie to yourself with answers that are rarely based on reality.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 KJV
Everything we do is based on our minds; every thought, decision, opinion, or concept you can think of starts in the mind. When your “head” is inside your head, you are in a dangerous place; you are fighting an invisible war. It is a vicious battle for your mind. This is when your internal enemies emerge, habitual thinking patterns sneak in, and negative self-talk takes hold. This internal war is unrelenting and unfair, but then Satan never plays fair.
In his book and blog “The Four Voices in Your Head,” author Patrick Morley identifies the voices fighting for your mind. The first three voices are the source of hurt feelings, living to please others, avoiding adult issues, unforgiveness, holding grudges, oppressive and uncomfortable feelings, misinterpreting social signs, false guilt and shame, and overall feeling the weight of the world. Dr. Morley writes, “Three of the voices influencing the conversation in our heads are the world, the flesh, and the devil. Thankfully, the fourth voice—the Holy Spirit—is exponentially more powerful than the other three combined.”[1]
The Voice of the World
The message of today’s world, conveyed by an onslaught of 24-hour news, entertainment, and social media, is that it already knows what will make you happy and satisfied. However, listening to the world’s voice never produces lasting happiness or peace.
A worldview that suppresses Gods’ truths is part of the pattern of this world. Materialism, hedonism, secularism, nihilism, narcissism, self-help, and the prosperity gospel are examples of self-centered philosophy or belief systems. The world tells you what your values should be and what will make you happy. Colossians 2:8 (KJV) says, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
The Voice of the Flesh
The voice of the flesh leads us straight to sin. Sinful lust, the lust of the flesh, is an overwhelming desire for something that God forbids. Lust of the eyes is the sinful desire to own what we see or to possess things that appeal to the eye. The pride of life looks down on others with judgment or up at others with jealously. The Bible tells us, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.1 John 2:15-16 KJV
The Voice of the Devil
Satan’s virus of choice is distrust, doubt, and despair. Once he hacks your brain and loads this malware onto your hard drive, it spreads very quickly and turns into false guilt, false shame, and self-pity. Satan is always probing for a vulnerability and loves nothing more than leveraging the wounded, broken parts of your story.[2] In 1 John 5:19 (KJV), John writes, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.”
The Holy Spirit is referred to in the Bible as our paraclete, meaning “the one who helps.” Scripture tells us the Holy Spirit is a comforter, counselor, guide, and advocate. At the same time, he convicts and converts. He bears fruit in our lives. He is God’s presence among us. “ But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26 KJV.
Ephesians 2:2-3 (KJV) says we all once followed the ways of the world, “ Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (emphasis mine). In that one passage, all three negative voices are referenced. Why do we still have brokenness in our lives? Because of the devil, the world, and the flesh.
As First Responders, we need to make our minds Bullet-Proof; Proverbs 4:23 states, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.” Every idea you have, every word you speak, and every action you take starts in your heart. The Apostle Paul tells us, “ If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4 KJV.
A poorly thrown split-finger fastball that stayed up in the zone did not kill Donnie Moore. The demons in his head did. He listened to the three negative voices and ignored the one that counted, The Voice of the Holy Spirit.
As First Responders, we took an oath to protect good and fight evil. Many have lost track of their priorities and have put the job first in their lives. If you are experiencing lower than usual sense of self-worth, depression or misplaced guilt, inability to specifically remember or talk about the trauma, feeling numb emotionally, dissociation (not aware of the present moment), a feeling of disconnection from their everyday lives, feeling hyper-aroused and vigilant for danger all the time, lashing out in irritability or unexplained anger, feeling jittery, or unable to concentrate on tasks at hand or other anxiety disorders, such as panic or intense distress, talk to someone and get help. Get back to the basics Put God First, Family Second, and the job further down in the order.
“When we give our lives to Jesus Christ, the things of earth grow strangely dim. The values of eternity grow increasingly bright.” ~ David Jeremiah
IF YOU HAVE THOUGHTS OF SUICIDE, GET HELP NOW
Law Enforcement Copline (800) 267-5463
Firefighters / Medics Fire/EMS HELPLINE (800) 731-FIRE (3473)
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Patrick Worley, “The Four Voices in Your Head,” Man in the Mirror Blog Post, accessed Oct. 21, 2021, The Four Voices in Your Head – Man in the Mirror ↑
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Patrick Worley, “The Four Voices in Your Head,” Man in the Mirror Blog Post, accessed Oct. 21, 2021, The Voice of the Devil – Man in the Mirror ↑
