lip service, to give/pay

To give a false or insincere declaration that one supposedly values, supports, respects, or believes in something. Fighting homelessness was touted as his primary agenda during his campaign, but so far it looks like he was only paying lip service. I'm tired of politicians who do nothing but pay lip service to the major issues affecting our country.

Fig. to express loyalty, respect, or support for something insincerely. You don't really care about politics. You're just paying lip service to the candidate. Don't sit here and pay lip service. Get busy!

An insincere expression of friendship, devotion, or support. Both the Old and New Testaments contain references to honoring God or Jesus only with one’s lips (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8). The religious association is maintained in an early English reference, “Pleasing themselves in their lip-service in bearing a part in it,” in the 1644 Directory for the Publique Worship Throughout the Three Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.