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VWB Greg Stewart Deputy of the Grand Master in District 4 of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington for 2003-2005 Mailto: underthetable@earthlink.net 13316 3rd NE |
Good Mason, Bad Mason (May 2004)
What makes a good Mason? Perhaps I should ask, what makes a Mason good? I have the burden of explaining to a man why he was not accepted to join a Lodge in my District even though he has been given his degrees in another Lodge and since demitted.
My personal challenge, being a Sagittarius Scorpio cusp born one Thanksgiving night under a full noon at an army base in Alabama which is now used to incinerate toxic chemicals manufactured for warfare, it is very easy for me to hate any person for any reason.
This is what made me better. As a Mason I look to the better side of a person, and in the case of a Brother Mason, give that person the extra benefit of the doubt. In my opinion, a good Mason is made when a man decides to improve the quality of his life by petitioning a Lodge. We do not always have the same expectations of ourselves and maintain different expectations for others. Who am I to judge if a Mason is good? What makes Masons good are the principles that we teach.
As an entered apprentice we are taught to subdue our passions and improve ourselves. A man can spend his entire life and not achieve the level of his Brother. His Brother in turn may not feel he is at the level of that man. The purpose is to make a good man better and we are doing just that. The other thing we must consider is that we do not necessarily want to let just any old slob join our tight little group. It is important to maintain a standard and sometimes the cost can be emotionally expensive to those involved. Emotion is passion and is the strongest driving force behind every successful individual. What makes a bad Mason, is when a Brother forgets that first and most basic lesson. It can be very difficult to curb unbridled anger and like a poor attitude spreads like wildfire.
The next time you are in Lodge think, of your first impression when you were escorted blindfolded and compare that to how you feel now. I recommend you never let your confidence run away and the guy sitting next to you may be thinking the same thing.
On a lighter note, I will be hosting the District Four elected Lodge Officer's picnic after Grand Lodge. I want two meetings per year for the purpose of coordinating our calendars with the Grand Master's itinerary and discuss changes in the Code and other procedures that were voted on during Grand Lodge. I have not not set a date and if there are any preferences from District Four elected Officers, I will consider them now.
Thanks to both the Deputy of the Grand Master in District 4, and the Masonic Monitor which publishes his articles for allowing us to reprint them. The Masonic Monitor is published monthly (except August) under approval of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington. The Masonic Monitor can be contacted at: 6619 132nd Avenue NE, PMB 237, Kirkland, WA, 98033-8627, USA. Phone: (425) 822-4605 - FAX: (425) 822-2535 - Email: masonicmonitor@earthlink.net.