From
September-October 2004
Friendship,
The Best of Life’s
Treasures
Buford B. Lich, 32°
Once an associate of Abraham Lincoln took him to task for
his attitude toward
his enemies saying, “Why do you try to make friends of them? You should
try to destroy them.” Lincoln replied gently, “Am I not destroying
my enemies when I make them my friends?”
As Freemasonry demonstrates, the best of all life’s
treasures is friendship. Our friends, if many and true, can
add more to our happiness than all the riches
in the world. Friendship comforts and has a balm for a thousand ills. It dispels
the dark clouds of despair while transforming all the relationships of life.
No relationship is complete until it has grown into friendship. Friendship
is tested by adversity, but true friendships are strengthened
by struggle.
A broad nature is capable of many friendships. One friend
appeals to you for one reason, another for some other reason.
Friendship is the heart’s library.
The wise friend is your book of philosophy. The courageous friend is your
book of heroism. The industrious friend is your book of achievement.
The merry friend
is your book of humor. As no book crowds another on your bookshelves, so
no friend crowds another in the library of your heart.
There is no such thing as a one-sided friendship. If you
profess to be a friend, then be to your friend what you want
him to be to you. Devotion to
the cause
of fellowship is the truth which makes love possible and mankind happy.
Buford B. Lich, Valley of Louisville, Kentucky, retired
as a sales manager for General Electric Supply Company
after 28 years of service. A member
of Harry
R. Kendall Lodge #750 in Louisville, Bro. Lich has served as a Sunday
School teacher and the Chaplain of a senior citizens
group. We regret to report that
Brother Lich died on May 17, 2004.
