VWB C. Blair Leckie Deputy of the Grand Master in District 4 of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington for 2005-2007 Mailto: cblairl@excite.com

 (January 2007)

As Masons, one of the many obligations we assume is a fiduciary responsibility to our lodge.  We are asked to be certain that the treasury grows beyond our expenditures and to plan conscientiously to insure our continued financial well-being.  This fiscal fact fits part and parcel with the great American ideal of capitalism.  As if built in to our DNA, most of our citizenry place a priority on accruing, multiplying, stockpiling and guarding our wealth.  It is a Darwinian belief applied to economics – the wealthiest survive.  In our society, we tend to honor assets and those who possess them.  No judgment is intended here, just a statement of observable information. Perhaps this, at least in part, explains that generalization of the tightfisted Mason and of those Masonic lodges who appear to have taken a blood oath in frugality.

But, let’s consider another, different kind of wealth, one in which Masons are generous benefactors - a kind of wealth that is the real treasure of our craft.  It is not monetary yet it is far more valuable than any high yield portfolio of stocks and securities or vast holdings in real estate or correctly guessed futures trades.  It defies the logic of traditional wealth gathering in that it multiplies and comes back to us to the degree that we give it away.  Consider that Masonry is a vast repository of harmony and diversity.  Think about the tenets of our fraternity, “Friendship, morality and brotherly love.”  We should be and we are encouraged to be spendthrifts with the coin of this realm, working for the good of humanity.  Let’s not be confused by our natural tendencies and hoard this kind of gold.  Let’s mine it and give it away and watch it multiply.  Let’s invest in our integrity and share the proceeds.  The true wealth of our lodges consists of good men striving to become better.  It consists of generous principles the purpose of which is that they are to be learned and freely divested.  The Holy Bible instructs that we should go with a brother twice as far as he asks and give him twice as much as he needs.  While this may not be the formula for a sound fiscal policy, it is a basic principle of spiritual abundance and a most valuable asset of our fraternity.  By giving away this treasure, we will become richer.

Thanks to both the District 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.