The lost art of letter writing

Handwritten letter. When was the last time you received one? In today's world, e-mails, twitter updates, and text messages abound. Not so for the letter; this beautiful expression of friendship has almost dwindled from society.

In this post, I'm going to evaluate the handwritten letter using the five basic questions that help me decide how important things are to our society and our faith. Feel free to change or add to this list; suggestions posted as comments are much appreciated!

The main question: "Should Christians make an effort to send handwritten, snail-mail letters? If so, how much effort?"
1. Does the Bible explicitly command it? No. Though it was the method Paul used, it was also the method his culture used to communicate.
2. Will it help me connect with the culture? Not really. Handwritten, snail-mail cards for occasions will help me show my friends they're valued, but in this culture it can never replace the <3 2 <3 connection of a txt or an e-mail. If I really want to connect, I'll have to be comfortable with electronic communication.
3. Will it help or hurt my faith? Letter writing will not hurt my faith, but texting and e-mailing can become addictive. It's good to be careful to only spend as much time is needed on these things so I can focus on face-to-face connections as well.
4. Will it help or hurt others' faith? Writing letters (but not communicating electronically) could distance me from others and make it more difficult to witness or give advice. It shouldn't hurt faith directly, but it could hurt indirectly.
5. What attitude/image does it portray? Letter writing can be seen as old-fashioned, feminine (if you use pretty stationary and good handwriting), and/or an extremely caring expression. How many people take the time to sit down and write a letter?
My thoughts: Yes - it's feminine! Yes, it's a great way to show your friends they're valued. No, you probably won't get any replies or close friendships this way. Sorry.
I recommend sending greeting cards. Homemade or store-bought, they're always a way to brighten a friend's day. They're fun to buy, fun to make, fun to write, they're feminine, they're caring, and they can't easily be replaced by an e-mail or a text.
As for close friendships, well....get out your cell phones and open your e-mail accounts!

Questions for discussion:

• How do you communicate most often? How do your friends communicate?
• Have you ever tried starting a snail-mail correspondence with your friends? What was the result?
• How can you better connect with your friends?