“I will call you.”
It is a promise recruiters make to a lot of people that they never had any intention of calling again. I have heard it so many times that it no longer bothers me. In a random survey of friends who has spoken to one or more recruiter in the past year, the overwhelming majority had no expectations when they heard the phrase.
As I watched a child plead he case, unsuccessfully, with his mother, I wondered how many meaningless phrases are used everyday. Even as I think, I realize that there are so many that I have lost track of my count. I restart the process and lose track again! Each phrase has something in common.
The listener knows they are hearing something other than the truth from the beginning. There are no reasons for doubt. The falsehood is obvious!
The person using the phrase rarely believes their line. S/he is hoping it will work but knows within their heart they know it will not. Watch, the telltales will be on display physically. The words are many things; truth is not one of them.
For most, the start of a falsehood is not heard through its finish. People turn off. In the child’s case, his mom was not listening! She quit with the first word. She knew what was going to follow. Her body language screamed her response. The actions that followed the unspoken language were verification of what everyone already knew.
I have come to realize that there is an exception that dominates my life. The God I know listens. S/he stops to hear me – in truth and in myth. Divinity is not blind, dumb, or stupid. I wonder what God was thinking when David made a request in confidence; “Listen while I build my case, God, the most honest prayer you’ll ever hear.” (Psalm 17.1) I do not know. David’s life suggests that God heard David’s heart. In the words, through the words, and even in spite of the words, God listened – heart to heart.
It is an amazing gift.
