Mutual Admiration

Mutual Admiration

Something my wife said today at lunch got me thinking. She characterized the Masons as a “mutual admiration society”. She’s been around Masonry most of her life. She was a Rainbow girl, her grandparents were in Masonry and Eastern Star, but her parents aren’t into the Masonic experience and the characterization she voiced actually originated with them. I know my suddenly getting back involved with Masonry after so many years of just paying dues has been pretty overwhelming for her, and it’s hard for anyone on the outside to really get what Masonry is about. Even for some of us it can take years to begin to appreciate what it is about Masonry that has made it persevere over the centuries. And the more I think about it, although an oversimplification of all Masonry is, mutual admiration is a big part of it. And that’s not a bad thing.

The ways of virtue are beautiful. Masonry provides us all with a template from which to form an admirable life if we each choose to do so. Those who join our order but don’t “get it” and see no need to improve themselves for the overall benefit of humankind don’t stay around long. Just accepting the challenges of our obligations to strive to be better men is in itself admirable. Our Masonic trestle board holds the directions to form ourselves into useful living stones for that house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. It should follow as a natural process that we admire the ones we associate with who take up their Masonic working tools and strive to use them the best they can. As we begin to learn the various parts of the ritual, it’s natural that we feel admiration for those who already know it well. Knowledge is attained by degrees, and the learning process doesn’t suddenly end when we are charged as Master Masons. The brothers who know the ritual well know the inner meaning that comes with that knowledge – the wisdom that dwells in contemplation. Thus they help and encourage others to learn and grow as they have, and admire our efforts and progress as we do.

So on reflection, I don’t feel the need to dispute the characterization of Masonry as a mutual admiration society, or apologize for our admiration and encouragement of each other. My brothers are worthy of admiration. Looking around the lodge room during a meeting I see kind generous men filled with brotherly love. Associating with them encourages me to try harder to be more like them as we all “cultivate the great moral virtues set down on our Masonic trestle boards and improve in everything that is good, amiable and useful.”

Contributed by: Brother Tom Lewis