Have You Thought About Friendship Lately?

I really enjoyed this chapter on Lewis' friends.  It just makes you want to run out and find a friend!

Without his friends, Lewis would never have become a spiritual and literary giant. And he would have little hesitation in demanding that we take the questions of friendship with the greatest seriousness: What kind of friends do we have? How much time do we spend nurturing our friendships? What’s the nature of real friendship ? These aren’t secondary questions as we might assume, but essential ones for living life well. Friends matter. They matter at school. They matter at work. They matter even more in old age. That’s why so many nod their heads at a neat epigram from Francis Bacon: “Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.” We all need friends—people who care for us, who can share our moments of joy, and who will support us in times of need and difficulty. Old friends tend to be good and true friends. Friends encourage us when we are downhearted and demoralised, they motivate us to perform better, and they help us pick up the pieces when things go wrong. We know that friends are important, but we live in a world that often trivialises the nature of friendship. Online social networks, with their collections of “friends ,” have in many people’s lives overtaken the place of real friendship. Yet despite these networks touting increased connectivity, research has shown that the upshot is less satisfaction with life. These “friendships” are leaving us worse off than before . . ..

. . . So what might we conclude? Perhaps the most important point to take away from our lunch with Lewis is that friendship is of vital importance because friendship is transformational—both for ourselves and for our friends. This is key because any form of ministry or service or endeavor worth pursuing requires support and fellowship. It cannot be undertaken in isolation. Friendship is essential to fit us for the task. That’s why the questions of friendship should be ones we ask ourselves on a regular basis: How are my friends influencing me? What task lies ahead of me that demands a community of support ? How can I support my friends? Am I spending enough time and energy cultivating real friendships? And is friendship an end or a means—something good in itself or a good to be consumed?" [1]

• Proverbs 22:24–25 (NIV), ²⁴ Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, ²⁵ or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.
• Proverbs 27:5–6 (NIV), ⁵ Better is open rebuke than hidden love. ⁶ Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
• Proverbs 17:17 (NIV), ¹⁷ A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
• Proverbs 13:20 (NIV), ²⁰ Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.
• Proverbs 27:17 (NIV), ¹⁷ As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

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1.  McGrath, Alister (2014-03-21). If I Had Lunch with C. S. Lewis: Exploring the Ideas of C. S. Lewis on the Meaning of Life (p. 30-31, 52). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.