Why do I need close friends?

Samuel Coleridge was a British essayist and poet best remembered for The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, which told the story of a calm ship full of men dead.

Coleridge suffered from rheumatism. He tried to mask his pain with opium and became addicted. He was single and in an unhappy marriage. His wife died young of cancer. Coleridge died in his 60s under the care of a doctor - still addicted, miserable and unable to quiet the voices raging within.

But he had a close friend named William Wordsworth. If you like poetry, this name should be very familiar to you. He supported Coleridge through it all, offering comfort, acceptance and strength.

One of Coleridge's best works has never been published. My favorite phrase is: "Friendship is a protective tree."

I think of close friends as tall trees with leafy branches that surround us and spread over us. They provide shade from the sun, protection from storms and fight the lonely wind of winter. Imagine a large protective tree. He is a close friend.

7. Friends should be cultured. They don't come automatically.

"A man who has friends should be friendly" (Proverbs 18:24).

Samuel Johnson wrote, "If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances in life, he will soon find himself alone. One should keep his friendships in constant repair."

In the wake of Covid, many of us have become incredibly isolated. We discovered artificial substitutes for close friendships like social media or even binge-watching television. We text more often than we talk! Today, getting together "in person" often seems like too much effort.

But let's be real. Nothing replaces face-to-face interaction. We need genuine, sincere conversation where we can respond to each other's facial expressions. Emojis don't cut it! We need hugs and handshakes, not hashtags. We need to shake hands and pray together, not just copy and paste "pray" into the comments section of a Facebook post.

A close friendship is worth the effort every time. Please don't stay isolated. We need each other now!

8. Friends are not neutral.

If you run with good friends, you become a better person. If you run with poor friends, you risk your faith.

Choose your friends wisely. In 1 Corinthians 15:33, Paul warns, “Make no mistake: Bad company corrupts good character. »

If you're a talker, you usually run with gossip. If you are a rebel, you run with rebels. Or on the contrary, if you run with rebels, you become one. If you want to be wise, run with wise men and you will become wise. It's amazing how our friends influence who we are.