Superficial, shallow conversation does not build relationships.

So many people depend on walking on eggshells so no one is angry with them. Very little in conversation is important or grows hearts and minds.

Sadly, this shallow exchange does nothing to build lasting, quality relationships.

Deeper, more quality relationships are based on each person desiring to know the heart of the other person; this is rare in our culture. Since we live in a culture that prioritizes boasting and flaunting things about oneself, there is little interest in anything about the other person.

One of the clues in a shallow relationship is that stories about life that bring life lessons are seen as boring and uninteresting. Lessons about life are not important to most people in our day.

Boasting about activities and sounding intelligent are the preferred means of communication today. This is the reason most people live by cliches and slogans without really knowing what they mean. Most of these conversations provide information about activities, but truly are boring without depth and meaning.

Many adults think on a one-dimensional level without attention to life lessons. Since life lessons and wisdom are not a priority, the culture remains unconcerned about others, except and unless pretending empathy from time to time will impress others.

When someone comes along with authentic empathy and wishes to share a profound insight, it is met with blank and unresponsive stares. These profound insights are often even considered rude because causing a person to think beyond shallowness brings agitation.

Our culture does not want to do the hard work of discovering whether something is worthy of attention. When a culture is dedicated to appearing special through its activities, they rarely think about the meanings of life experiences.

Perhaps, making someone else think more deeply brings humility; it demands that the one hearing the wisdom will take the time and effort to think beyond trivialities. This is offensive to most people since the culture has elevated boasting and superficiality to the level of an art form.

I find that the people I know who think beyond cliches and cultural mantras are often mocked or excluded as though something is wrong with them. This is why those who love to think more deeply isolate themselves, interacting mostly with others who think the way they do. Conversations with people who enjoy wisdom on a deeper level are full of joy at their discoveries.

1 Corinthians 2:15-16 "…15The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment. 16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.