The 27th chapter of Proverbs has become a favorite of mine. So much of it concerns friendship. Consider for instance…
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy….. Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend…. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away…. He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be reckoned a curse to him…. Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another….
As they said to George Bailey, “No man with many friends is poor.” Or something to that effect.
The person who can boast many friends is rich indeed
Lately I’ve found myself pondering those people who occupy a strategic spot in my mind, memory, and appreciation. That is, those I consider special friends.
And I think I’ve identified a key element of that kind of close friendship.
The essence of the really close friendship is HONOR.
I’m honored to be this person’s friend. I feel he is better than me. An hour or an afternoon with him is like a gift. Even if we did nothing but browse old bookstores or drink coffee at a sidewalk cafe, the fellowship was like manna from heaven for me.
My friend is better than me and different from me. He (speaking generally here, now) has a mind of his own, does things I cannot, reads books and goes places I haven’t, and always–ALWAYS!–has interesting contributions to whatever we’re discussing at the moment.