Phoning It In?

Have you ever heard the phrase “phoning it in” used in reference to someone not
giving 100%?!

Well, during John McCain’s run for President in 2008, he put his campaign on hold to work on the Senate bailout package because as he said, ‘it’s not my style to
simply phone it in.’ ‘When I was thinking about using this phrase for the title of my
sermon, I wondered where the phrase might have come from.

In an article titled, “Phoning It In” By Ben Zimmer he talks about this American
idiom as resulting from the introduction of the telephone with Alexander Graham
Bell and its influence on communication in our world. He states…

“The luxury afforded by the telephone of transmitting a message from a distance
(rather than having to show up in person) [though extremely innovative and
helpful] led to all manner of jokes. Among stage actors, a “gag” circulated about an
actor with a role so small that he could phone it in… [later] Phoning it in moved
beyond the acting profession to become a widely recognized expression appropriate for any type of ho-hum public performance, from athletics to music to politics…”

According to A. Barbour, author of Louder Than Words: Nonverbal Communication, the total impact of a message breaks down like this:!
7 percent verbal (words)!
38 percent vocal (volume, pitch, rhythm, etc)!
55 percent body movements (mostly facial expressions)!

So, it’s not surprising that we incorporate idioms like “Phoning it in” into our
language to indicate that our communication is ho-hum, unauthentic, meaning we are less than engaged. Especially, when so much of real communication depends on something other than words.!

We have to ask ourselves if we are “Phoning it in” with our relationships with
coworkers, friends and family and I surely want you to give consideration to that
but more importantly, “Are you ‘Phoning It In’ with God?