Quantity Or Quality, What Did You Give Up For Masonry?

 

By James C. “Chris” Willams IV, Staff Writer

I am almost sure that John must have a locator beacon on my phone or something.  Pam and I were having a nice lunch at Mimi’s Café.  She had gotten a chance to get away and asked me if I wanted to have lunch with her and that was an offer I couldn’t refuse.  We were sitting there enjoying a steaming bowl of French Onion soup…one of their specialties and sharing a tuna sandwich and a pleasant quiet conversation when I glanced over Pam’s shoulder and I saw him……big….and I do mean big John Deacon.  Without thinking I slid down in the booth and laid down on the seat and waited for him to go by.  I could hear Pam asking me what the heck I was doing (it should have been obvious, I remember thinking).  I waited and waited but I never saw him go by.  So I turned my head slightly to peer over the table to see where he went and I was looking straight at a huge belt buckle.  I knew I was had, and I straightened up and said, “Hey Brother John, I didn’t know you were in town.  You didn’t call me.” “Well, my cell phone stopped working so I went by the shop,” he said with raised eyebrows.  “Roger told me you were having lunch so I figured I would just see you next month.  As I was driving down the freeway I glanced over and saw your truck sitting in this parking lot, so I came in to give you some company, but I didn’t know you were having lunch with a beautiful lady.  What is your wife going to say?” Of course Pam was grinning at John, so I said, “You aren’t going to tell her are you?” That got Pam to stop grinning, but she slid over and told John to sit down and much to my dismay handed him a menu.  He had already been checking my soup out which caused me to move it out of his reach.  Marcie, our very capable server came up and John immediately ordered one of everything on the menu.  At least it sounded like it.  He also hit all the good stuff which is pretty much everything they have.  He ordered the Turkey Club with the guacamole and two bowls of the French Onion Soup and the meatloaf….what a combination.  It didn’t take long for his food to come, and he dug in and lapsed into total silence.  Pam sat there with a puzzled look on her face, and I told her that John’s brain stops working when he eats so he can’t communicate.  She nodded like she understood (go figure), and I think I heard John mumble something about a form of communication that he couldn’t convey in front of my wife.  She patted him on the back and said she was going to walk over to the department store next door and do some shopping.  He slid out to let her out and she gave him a hug as she walked by him and waved at me (go figure again).  I just sat there waiting for him to finish and finally he looked up and said, “Have you ever thought about what the tradeoff is for being a Mason or what you give up by being a Mason?” “I never thought about it that way John,” I replied, a little confused at where this was going.  I need to think about that a minute before I answer.” “Ok,” he said.  “While you are thinking about it let me tell you why it is a problem.  Before we can talk about the tradeoff we have to understand that there are Brothers that cannot benefit from Masonry for a variety of reasons.  Reasons like time, background, what they expect to receive from being made a Mason, their actual level of interest, preconceived ideas about what Masonry is, and others.  These men must be identified in the beginning and honestly told to either wait or to not become a member.  Masonry requires a lifelong commitment in time and effort and those men who find that out too late do not end up having a happy and rewarding Masonic career. 

I heard a Brother the other day complaining that “joining” Masonry put a lot of pressure on his time, and his wife was not happy because he was supposed to go to Lodge twice every month.  He said that he just didn’t have the time to come to Lodge.  Well there are several things that are wrong here.  This Brother as well as many other Brothers have come into Masonry unprepared and for the wrong reasons, and have failed to understand what is that he is a part of.  First, no one “joins” Masonry.  One is made a Mason.  One “joins” the Lion’s Club or the Rotary Club but no one “joins” Masonry.  When I hear a Brother say that he has “joined” Masonry, I know that that there is a better than even chance that he will likely never “be” a Freemason, at least not in the true meaning of the word.  He has been made a Mason without being properly educated or prepared.  At some point he will realize all of this and will either drop out of Masonry altogether or will leave the Blue Lodge to work in one of the appendant organizations.  This is bad for the Lodge, bad for the new Brother, and ultimately bad for Masonry.  These organizations should not be used as a substitute for Masonry.  The second thing that is at issue here is that we allow men to be made Masons who we know from the beginning cannot and in many cases have no intention of fulfilling their obligation to the Lodge past learning the memory work.  Men who come into the Fraternity only to gain membership into the Shrine, Scottish Rite, or York Rite should not be allowed into the Fraternity.  Uh oh, did I say that?  Yes I did.  Using the degrees of Freemasonry as a steppingstone only to belong to another organization goes against everything that Freemasonry stands for and there is no logical argument to the contrary that can prevail.  To argue that it is acceptable to allow a man to do this suggests a total lack of understanding of what Masonry is.  These other organizations have their stated purpose, and I am a member of most of them, but they do not and should not take the place of mine or any Brother Mason’s obligations to Masonry and to his Lodge to follow that path of knowledge and enlightenment that Masonry requires.  Our obligations are not just words spoken out of the necessity of the moment.  They are promises we make to ourselves and to God.  It is no secret that quality is much more desirable than quantity.  So the debate sets up as: Do we sit back and tell no one anything about the Fraternity and admit only those who take the time to research our organization and decide that they want what Freemasonry offers or….  do we identify good men who might be searching for what we offer without any knowledge of our Fraternity and give them the information necessary that they can make an informed decision whether they would benefit from Masonic membership?” “That’s a hard one John,” I said as I realized he had stopped and was waiting for an answer.  “I guess there is something to be said for both.” “No, Brother Chris” he shot back.  “The answer IS both, by using education, communication, and education.” “Brother John, you said education twice, you know.” The withering stare I got made my spine tingle.  “I said education twice for a reason,” he growled, obviously aggravated that I disrupted his flow.  When he got his composure back he smiled and said, “My dear pain- in- the- rear Brother Chris, education is and always has been the key and the lack of it is the main source of almost every problem we have in Masonry.  A man who is asking or who has been identified as a prospective member should be well informed about what Masonry is and what it isn’t.

Maybe a pre-investigative interview should be done with learned members of the Fraternity to outline what the candidate and new Brother should expect from his membership in Masonry.  If that were done, many a prospective candidate might find out that Masonry is not what he is looking for and will save much time, effort, and money, spent on a man who will not benefit from Masonic membership.  The truth is that men who ask about membership in our Order are told all kinds of different things about Freemasonry… some of which borders on fiction and even though the Brother may have good intentions, his lack of adequate knowledge about the Fraternity or his zeal in adding to membership at any cost is a detriment to our organization.” “Brother John, it almost sounds like you are trying to lower membership instead of growing it.  We have been declining for years you know.” “Actually I am trying to grow membership….but the right membership….Brothers that will be good, productive, and long-term members of the Craft.  Our membership issue will not be solved by letting just anyone and everyone into the Fraternity.  The majority of those who come into Masonry that don’t belong usually leave within a short time ….after they realize that it isn’t what they expected.  However, if those who don’t belong don’t leave of their own free will, they will do damage to our organization.  Being more selective would actually increase interest, and ultimately membership, and even attendance.  Exclusivity is always a draw.  And you know there is one large group of men that the Fraternity should have had as members but did not get.  A very large percentage of the male family members of our previous two generations who refused to tell anyone anything about the Fraternity unless they asked directly.” “You are so right Brother John,” I interjected before I realized that doing so might be painful.  As he glared at me I continued.  “One of my Brothers from here in town told me that he always knew his father was a Mason, but he never told him or his Brother or anyone that he knew of about Masonry.  He just always thought that if his father thought he should be a Mason that he would have told him.  It wasn’t until my Brother Robert was in his forties that he, by chance, had a conversation with a man who was a Mason who told him why his Father had never said anything to him.  When Robert told me this story I could hear the sadness in his voice that he never had a chance to sit in Lodge with his Father or to share the beauties of the Fraternity with each other.” John’s look had softened somewhat as I told the story and by the time I finished he was nodding in agreement and said, “Yes, because our own stubbornness and in some cases ignorance, Masonry lost out on a large number of men who were raised and influenced by good men….good Masons, all of whom would have been a great benefit to Masonry and to society. The point I am trying to make is that the Brothers who complain that they have no time for Masonry or to go to Lodge in many cases came into the Fraternity either for the wrong reasons or without the knowledge they needed to make a proper decision.  I need to stress here that Masonry is not, and I repeat is not a social club.  Those looking for a men’s social supper club to once or twice a month have dinners, share a few stories and go home can join any number of organizations to achieve that end but Masonry requires certain things from its members and those who won’t or can’t follow its path become a contradiction to themselves and the Craft. These men are good men and will continue to live a moral life all their days, but these are not the “good” men that Masonry is there for.  Masonry is for those good men who are looking for something more.  Where did I come from….what is my purpose here….where am I going….These are questions that men ask, and Masonry is there to provide those answers.  I am not saying that a man should not be a Mason if he is not going to be a student of the deeper philosophical and spiritual teachings and practices of the Craft.  A man who is made a Mason and who labors his whole lifetime in the quarries of the ritual and instructing new Masons on the required work and lives his obligations is to me as just an upright Mason as any.  What I am saying is that just because a man may want to be a Mason or a Mason may have a buddy or family member that he wants to offer the mysteries and beauties of a Masonic life to,  it just doesn’t mean that he CAN be a Mason or that Masonry will be a good fit for him. Now, before the Brothers take me out behind the woodshed and try to persuade me that my thinking is wrong on this, let me say that I am not suggesting that we bar any man who is legally and financially able to petition a Lodge from being initiated into the Craft, because the Great Architect knows that no Brother can see what is in another man’s heart and mind and how he will conform or receive the lessons of Masonry. I am suggesting that every man who desires to petition a Masonic Lodge should be completely informed of the requirements and expectations of his membership as well as given pertinent information about Masonry to make a good decision. So, what is the tradeoff Brother Chris?  What did you give up to be a Mason?” “Wow, John,” I replied.  That is a hard question to answer.  I don’t think I gave up so much as I made adjustments.  As I realized over time the importance of what I was learning and what I was doing, some unproductive and unnecessary things in my life got put aside in favor of things that were more important…… to me.  I guess Masonry kinda grew on me over the years as I realized slowly and surely how fortunate I was to have been given this opportunity.  After hearing what you just said John, I remember back when I asked to be made a Mason and was granted that request.  I didn’t really know what it was all about, but I did know the man and a few others who were Masons and going to Lodge to have a meal with all of them showed me the closeness that was there between them.  And I could see and feel that there was something more there….something that I couldn’t quite explain and of course I now know what it was.