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beyond the northeast corner
The Challenge
Of Freemasonry
CHAPTER XVIII
Richard h. sands
Introduction
IT
IS NOT ALWAYS EASY to uphold the fundamental principles of brotherly love,
relief, and truth, or to practice such time‑honored and time‑tested virtues as
faith, hope, charity, temperance, fortitude, prudence, and justice. Yet these
should not be mere high‑sounding words devoid of meaning. As the final charge in
the Ceremony of Initiation tells us, they must be carried into active operation.
In keeping them strong and pure we must be determined and persistent. Only if we
hew to the line shall we win for others and for ourselves the three great social
treasures, fraternity, liberty, and equality.
Human nature
is varied and complex. There are some, a few, who regard themselves as
independent of all around them, and unrelated to others. To them life appears
simple indeed. Others, many others, regard such a life as not merely simple, but
as unrealistic and selfish. They say that man cannot insulate himself from the
world; he is affected by other men and in turn he must have social
responsibility and reach out to relate to them. A third group recognizes that
this view of life is broader, but still flat, superficial, and horizontal. Man
has an instinctive awareness of higher things, and aspires to attain them. If
life is to have any depth of meaning or richness, it must operate not only in
this horizontal plane, but also in a vertical plane. Those who are firmly
attached to the basic tenets of Freemasonry inevitably are associated with this
last group.
Let us
consider these two planes more closely. The horizontal relationships between the
"I" and the "you" or the "it" we share daily in all our activities. In addition,
as members of the Craft we acknowledge our belief in a Supreme Being who
transcends the earthly realm. Thus each of us has experienced the vertical
relationship, between the "I" and the "Supreme Being". Once the horizontal and
vertical relationships become integrated into the life of the individual, a new
dimension is added to our understanding, and life comes to have a richer,
fuller, deeper meaning.
With
this integration comes a new freedom. All men seek freedom, but few actually
find it. Some believe that they have found it when they bend or break the
shackles of discipline and do as they please. In recent decades this attitude
has won increasing currency, but it leads only to greater tyranny. Freedom
cannot be freedom unless it is disciplined. In the words of our first Grand
Master, "There is no liberty without the supremacy of the law". A disciplined
freedom sets boundaries. Of course the Mason is expected to pay due obedience to
the laws of the land. But the boundaries, the limitations of which we speak, are
not just the human laws imposed on us from without, the sociological laws
dictated by majority opinion; for if the opinion of the majority should shift,
these laws might be rescinded. No, the limitations referred to above include the
moral law, the constant awareness of what is right, the unchanging virtues, the
eternal principles inculcated by religious teachings, the landmarks and tenets
of Freemasonry.
Here then is
one challenge to Freemasonry. Every member is challenged to live according to
the principles of his faith and the principles of the Craft. The challenge
requires action! The challenge requires action now! Are you content to be a
Mason in name only, carried along through life by every whim and fancy of
society? Or are you, my brother, courageous enough to apply yourself to meet the
challenge of your Masonic obligation?
This
Changing Society
We
live in a technological age. Scientific research since the Second World War has
placed vast quantities of knowledge on everyone's doorstep, and the volume of
this knowledge has been doubling every few years. Such great strides in the
sciences have brought prosperity, and in many ways the present age appears good
and worthwhile. But they have also brought great changes in society, some of
which are less welcome. The population has a fluidity or mobility which is
without precedent in history. Youth is full of unrest. Protests increase in
number. Violence rises like an ugly serpent.
All
these changes raise a number of questions. Can Freemasonry survive in a
technological society? Must Freemasonry change when society changes? If society
gives up the disciplines of former years, does this imply that Freemasonry must
forsake its basic teachings?
Let
us look briefly at this changing society. In former years one chose a vocation
and remained in it for life. Often to carry out his responsibilities one had to
perform capably in several areas, as "a Jack of all trades". Today people need
not stay committed to a single line of work. They are prepared to undergo
periodic retraining to fit themselves for other callings. At the same time they
are specializing in much narrower areas of responsibility. This increased
specialization has brought about a mobility in our society. Families are no
longer established in a community for a lifetime. Instead, large corporations
now require their personnel to pack up and move, family and all, not just within
the community but across the land, and even to other countries and
continents.
Distances seem shorter than before.
Technology has enabled men to plumb the depths of outer space, and even to walk
on the surface of the moon. Air travel has made the world smaller, by bringing
the great cities within mere hours of one another. The world no longer consists
of many tribes or nations isolated by time and space. It is one large community
struggling to live in an age of ever increasing technology. Yet within this
"global village" there are still barriers, walls, curtains, some of them set up
by the very technological thinking that removed others. True, the advance of
science has brought labor-saving inventions, convenient devices and efficient
machines that have added to man's comfort, and it has brought prosperity. But
not all people nor all nations have benefited equally. Some parts of the world
are still under-developed, under-privileged and exploited in the name of
progress. Though the age of affluence is sweet like the rose-bud, it may bear at
its heart the canker-worm.
Affluence has made men, and nations,
want independence. Some who have achieved this independence have become selfish
and indifferent; they "couldn't care less" what happens to others. Some, more
altruistic, have seen the spiritual advantages that come with independence; and
so there is an increasing concern for the "have nots" of the entire world,
regardless of race, color, or creed. In many countries there has been a trend
towards the redistribution of wealth and the provision of social welfare for
all. This no doubt rights many wrongs, and the Mason will patiently submit to
the decisions of the supreme legislature. But we may observe in passing that
political legislation can never take the place of brotherly love, relief, and
truth in the heart of the individual man.
Technology has also affected
communication. News items are flashed into our homes minutes after they have
occurred, and the images of the television screen involve us immediately in the
lives and problems of others. One observer has even concluded that the
newscasters are the priests of our modern society, and the newscasts and special
televised news events are the rituals of a new "participatory society" (Gibson
Winter, Being Free: Reflections on America's Cultural Revolution, Macmillan,
1970, page 19).
Man is
bombarded by the mass media of communication. His thoughts and reactions are
often conditioned and manipulated by saturation. Advertisers know this, and fill
the television screen with commercials. Politicians know this, and let the
facile slogan serve the role of thought. Manufacturers know this, and guide the
whim of fashion to produce planned obsolescence and to create an artificial
demand for their goods. We even hear of countries where history books are
constantly being rewritten, to bring the past into conformity with the
present.
Not only has
technology complicated our work‑a‑day lives, but our social relationships too
are more highly organized and complex. As a result families, instead of being
drawn closer together, are being driven further apart. The "alienation" of the
young, their radical and rebellious activities, the growing permissiveness of
society, the rejection of the "establishment" and its old morality, all
have shown up in one form or another in many countries of the world. Ostensibly
such protests have different causes in different areas, but there may be a
single underlying reason. An outstanding American psychologist refers the unrest
among our youth to the "feeling that 'youth has no future' because modern
technology has made them obsolete—that they have become socially irrelevant and,
as persons, insignificant" (Bruno Bettelheim, "Obsolete Youth", in Encounter for
September, 1969).
Such is the
society in which we live. Not all the influences and ideas that have come with
technology are to be opposed, condemned, or destroyed. Many of the problems of
our age arise from man's inability to handle his prosperity within the framework
of society. The confusion which assails the mind of man has weakened his
convictions; it has led society to desire, and sometimes to demand, the
alteration of long‑established standards of behavior. The question remains,
"Must we all be completely overtaken by the trends of this technological
society? We have permitted technology to become a deity" (Gibson Winter, Being
Free, page 141). All around us we see the spiritual Supreme Being whom we
acknowledged on our entry into the lodge gradually being displaced. Our society
is, more and more, living only on the horizontal plane. It would be all too easy
to acquiesce, if only to avoid being scorned, laughed at, or
ostracized.
Masonry
exists in the midst of society. Let us return to the questions we asked earlier.
Can Masonry survive in a technological society, where so many of the ancient
beliefs have been uprooted, shifted, and in some cases all but destroyed? Is
there a place for Masonry's fundamental principles in a society as transient and
changeable as ours? Should it adjust its standards to conform to those of the
changing society in which it exists?
The answers
are plain and unequivocal. The Landmarks of Masonry include a belief in God, and
a conviction that He has revealed His will to man. A Mason is obliged by his
tenure to obey the moral law, for he knows that the Most High has defined for
his instruction the limits of good and evil. He knows that there are such things
as Right and Wrong in an absolute sense. The fundamental principles of Masonry
are the foundations of a healthy society. It is encouraging to recall how
history repeats itself. Whenever the guide lines of society are bent,
redirected, or removed too far, then mankind tends to return to the absolute
standards set forth in the Volume of the Sacred Law. Whether this return is to
be effected by accident, circumstance, condition or intention, it is our
responsibility to work toward it.
If we
believe that Masonry will continue, and that our society is to maintain some
form of stability in the midst of such great changes, then each one of us is
being challenged. How seriously are we taking our obligations? Are we
establishing our lives upon the cardinal and theological virtues? Are we
promoting the fundamental principles of Freemasonry? How enthusiastically are we
serving as Masons in our homes, our communities, our country? Brethren, are the
ancient Landmarks worth the struggle so far as we are concerned? Each of us is
now challenged to make his decision. Each must decide for what or for whom he
will live and die.
Responding
to the Challenge
Once we have
taken the decision, we will find that we have a tremendous contribution to make
to Freemasonry. What do we have to offer? Masonry, we are told, strives to make
good men into better men. We may therefore venture to hope that every Mason
tries to practice the virtues and to display sound moral judgment, not only
within the lodge but outside it as well.
In addition
the Grand Architect of the Universe grants us all, to a greater or lesser
degree, three other great gifts. First, He gives us a span of time to live out
our lives. During his lifetime a man makes many decisions. He may decide to live
to himself, grasping for worldly possessions, and forgetting that "no man is an
island, entire of itself". Or he may resolve to have a genuine concern for his
neighbors, being involved in their welfare and relieving their needs as
opportunity arises. This requires a sharing of time. No man can keep every
moment of life for himself. If we are to get the most out of life, we must share
our time, at least to some extent, with others.
Now if we
become involved with others in this way, we are also using our talents or
abilities. In most situations time alone is not enough, there has to be
something else working with it. Not all of us are equally endowed with talents,
not all are capable of doing all things equally well. We differ in abilities.
Our gift may be simply listening to the troubled soul, or to the outpourings of
a bereaved and broken heart. Or it may be providing guidance for one who knows
not where to turn. Or it may be using the skills of our daily vocation to help a
fellow worker. Or we may be called upon to provide leadership to the young, or
to the elderly.
Besides time
and abilities each of us has worldly possessions in varying amounts. Often we
think of these in terms of money, because that is the medium of exchange in our
economic system. To relieve the needs of others we can use our money and our
other material possessions. In fact not to use them when a chance presents
itself is an abuse. If we employ our abilities, possessions, and time to help
others, we need not proclaim what we have done. In the lodge or outside it we
will without pretension do that which is good, not for ourselves, but for the
cause of good.
Your whole
life is made up of
Abilities,
Time, and Possessions,
Gifts from
God.
Your
Abilities include natural talents and skills which you have learned.
Your Time is
divided between work and rest.
Your
Possessions divide between property you hold and money you earn.
How you
manage your whole life, responsibly or carelessly, generously or selfishly
imaginatively or fearfully, is your Stewardship.
All gifts
belong to God and you are the responsible caretaker for a little
while.
To be a good
steward is to be able to offer each day, as an act of worship,
Abilities well used,
Time well spent,
Possessions well
distributed.
-Author Unknown
Being a Mason means much, much more than
simply belonging to another organization that is respected in the community.
Freemasonry is much, much more than just another association where you hear
fine‑sounding lectures and forget them. Each of you has undertaken to answer and
obey all lawful signs and summonses; you should attend your lodge whenever you
can, pleading thereto no excuse save sickness or the pressing emergencies of
your public or private avocations. Each of you has the responsibility of sharing
your time, not only in the lodge but beyond it. Each of you is responsible for
the use of your abilities and possessions for the benefit of the lodge, the
Craft, and the world at large, so far as may fairly be done without injury to
yourself or your family. If the fundamental principles of Masonry are observed,
your abilities, time, and possessions will be expended for the benefit of all
mankind, and your Masonry will be meaningful. Herein lies the challenge of
Freemasonry in the midst of a changing society. Accept the challenge and let
your Masonic principles live!
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