The Inner Ring

Are cliques a good thing or a bad thing? If you look at what we are taught by our parents, the church, and usually our teachers, we are always taught that cliques are a bad thing. Regardless of their negative connotation cliques are everywhere. In fact, it is rather impossible not to be involved in one, and if you aren't in it then you are outside another. Cliques seem to dominate all of our lives, from all stages of schooling, to sports teams, to friends, to work, even in the church. C.S. Lewis says that cliques "[are] not only a bad thing, it is (in itself) a good thing, that personal friendship should grow up between those who work together." But Lewis' does not let inner rings end there, and for good reason. Although it is quite natural that we have cliques and that we have a natural affinity for those that we have similar interests with, that does not mean that what we do to form them is okay.

The greatest danger in an inner ring is the exclusion factor. "Exclusion is no accident; it is the essence." Lewis talks about how when we join an inner ring it is often a long and difficult journey for us, and after we have achieved our goal we generally make it just as difficult for incomers to get in simply because we had to struggle as well. It is a vicious cycle that has no end insight. Cliques get their worth from their exclusivity. This is not a good thing by any stretch of the imagination, but it is the reality. As we discussed this in class I was a little surprised at first at the idea of cliques in heaven. Upon further reflection though, it seems to make perfect sense. As I mentioned before, circles of friends are not inherently bad. If I love soccer it only makes sense that I will become close with those who share my love and we will spend time together playing soccer. On the other hand if you enjoy golf, we are less likely to spend a saturday afternoon together playing sports. The difference here is the intent. It is natural to spend time with those I am similar to, but we are not intentionally excluding people, in heaven anyone and everyone will be able to access these groups, they will have the choice. The other thing is that in heaven we will all have the unifier of worshiping God together, so we will always have one body that we are all apart of.
Something that was interesting to me when we were discussing this in our small groups was the idea of best friends and relationships in heaven. It seems to make sense that we have specific people who God made for us, or that we were made for. In either case we all feel a level of closeness to specific people that it seems no one else can match. But in Heaven will this feeling be across the board for everyone? We will all be living in loving community with one another praising God. But will we be like cells that all connect together but are their own piece, or one solidified group? I am no theologian and do not have the answers to these questions. But I thought it was a thought provoking question to consider.