textfiles/magazines/STB/stb-1925-05.txt

SHORT TALK BULLETIN - Vol.III      May,1925      No.5

WHAT?

by: Unknown

WHAT HAS MASONRY DONE FOR ME?

Let each brother who hears the question answer it for himself.  But 
let him answer it carefully and with slow thought; not hastily and 
carelessly.

Most brethren will make an answer somewhat as follows:

"Freemasonry has given me sweetness in my life; the sweetness of 
brotherhood,  the feeling of one-ness with my fellows.  In its 
shelter I have made many friends; friends I would not, to could not 
have made otherwise.  I have taken from them that cheery smile, that 
helpful word, which has made the rough places in the path of life 
smooth; I have received from them the encouragement, the heartening, 
the courage, which have made the battle easier to win.

"Freemasonry has given me the Mystic Tie; the tie which no man may 
put into words, yet which binds the closer that it is intangible.  
Bonds of silk are Freemasonry's chains; yet none of steel could hold 
as tightly or wear as softly.  In the Mystic Tie, which I am 
privileged to renew about the Holy Altar of my Lodge as often as I 
will, I find the perfume of life, the lovely colors of the love of 
man for man, and the gentle touch of a friendly hand, than which 
there is nothing softer in all existence.

"Freemasonry has given me education; it has taught me that there is a 
greater reward for unselfishness than for self-seeking, that there is 
a high wage to be earned for good work, true work, square work done 
for love of the labor and not love of the wage.  It has given me the 
opportunity to know of high aim, of lofty aspiration, of patriotism, 
of struggle upward through the mire of discouragement with eyes fixed 
always on the star; it has given me an inspiration."

Many a brother can speak of what Freemasonry has done for him in 
terms of the practical workaday world; of the note endorsed; the fund 
given; the trip arranged; the sick visited; the flowers received; the 
loved ones comforted in grief.  But for every man who has had the 
material help, a thousand have had the spiritual gifts of 
Freemasonry, and most of us, let us thank God, have not had to ask 
for, or receive, even the beautiful charity of brotherhood.
All of this being so . . . and let him who finds it untrue arise now 
in his place and deny if he can that Masonry has so benefited him . . 
. it is but fair and honest that as true an answer be given to the, 
"What have I done for Masonry?"

There will be some who reply to themselves, :I have served as an 
officer.  I have conferred degrees.  I have borne the heat and burden 
of the day."  They are the lucky ones, for they have received the 
more as they have given the more.  But the great majority of us 
cannot so answer, since there are but few officers in proportion to 
the number of Craftsmen.

So ask again, my brother, you who have never served in an official 
capacity, "What have I done for the Freemasonry which has done so 
much for me?"

Nay, my brother, you need not be ashamed if the catalog of your 
services is short and small.  For there must always be those who are 
but the background; who take without giving; who receive without 
effort the largess of their brethren who have learned the great 
lesson that to give is to receive; that to put forth is to have 
returned, aye, an hundred-fold.

Yet there will be many who hear the question and answer it to 
themselves, and are ashamed; and these will want to know: 
"What can I do for Freemasonry?  I would pay my debt; I would also be 
in the ranks of those who give, as well as receive."

Freemasonry is not a thing; it is not an organization, a system of 
men and officers; of lodges and Grand Lodges.  The organization, the 
system, the men, the officers, the Grand Lodges are but the vehicle 
through which Freemasonry expresses itself.  A man might be the sole 
inhabitant of a lonely land, where  there was no brother, no lodge, 
no Grand Lodge, no dues, no Masonic Work to do and yet carry 
Freemasonry in his heart.  And if there were two in that lonely land, 
Freemasonry could find away to express itself.  For Freemasonry is 
coin of the heart, and therefore can only be paid to the heart.
What you can for Freemasonry then is largely what you can do for your 
own and  your brother's heart.

It is agreed between us that he who serves the vehicle also serves 
the spirit of Freemasonry; that the brother who labors on her 
material Temple, who serves his lodge, who acts upon committees, who 
provides entertainment, who tiles, sweeps, makes the fire and fills 
the lamps serves truly and serves well.  But when all the physical 
labor is done there is still much to do; and, when all who may have 
done the toil there is still a design upon the Trestleboard.
Therefore my brother, answer in terms of the heart, not of the 
muscles, the pocketbook, the voice or the time spent in attending 
lodge; "What have I done for Freemasonry?"

If all of Freemasonry was in the hearts of ten brethren; and ninety-
one per cent of it was in one heart, and each of the other nine had 
but one percent; would the ten be happy, successful and well-paid 
Freemasons?  They would not.  But as each one of the nine rose in 
knowledge and in the practice of Freemasonry, he would benefit not 
only himself but all rest as well.  And when all ten knew all and 
practiced all of the gentle arts of Freemasonry, surely those ten 
would make a happy lodge!

This homely little illustration is intended to bring home to him who 
hears it with the ears of his mind, the fact that Freemasonry is 
better, as each of us who profess it, practices it.  No man may make 
of "Himself" a better Freemason and not benefit his brethren.  So to 
him who asks in all humility, "I have not done much, show me how I 
may do more," the is answer, "First, by making yourself a better 
Freemason."

To be "a better Freemason" means, first of all, to know something 
about Freemasonry.  There will be those who hear this message who 
know a great deal of Freemasonry.  Let them answer for themselves, if 
they think they know enough!  But the great majority of us are 
content to know that there is a wonderful story to be read 
"Sometime." Who would truly be able to do something for Freemasonry 
if they will make that time "Now."

Where did Freemasonry come from?  How did it come to a weary world?  
What has been its history?  What are its accomplishments?  What has 
it done to justify itself?  What are its laws, its Old Charges, its 
Landmarks?  What did Freemasonry do in the making of this government 
of ours?  What had Freemasonry to do with the Stars and Stripes, and 
the white stars in the heaven blue?  What do the symbols of 
Freemasonry teach?  Why do we have three degrees, and how did they 
come to be?  How was the Word Lost, and will That Which Was Lost ever 
be found?

Answer, you who ask, "What shall I do for Freemasonry," and if you 
cannot, then inform yourself so that Masonry may have one more 
recruit who knows something of her glorious history, her purpose and 
her mysteries.

But it is not enough to know something of Freemasonry.  
Those who would really help Freemasonry must not only know it, but 
"Live" it.  Ask yourself once more, my brother, and answer, though 
only you will hear it:  "What do I do everyday that is Masonic; how 
do I use my Freemasonry in my daily life?"

For there is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of 
Freemasonry; the most wonderful of philosophies, the most Divine of 
truths, the most sublime of conceptions, the most learned of 
teachings which are as ineffective as a summer shower to quell a 
raging fire, "If They Not Be Lived!"

All of us are human, and all of us, therefore struggle against the 
same enemies. All of us have within us a Something to subdue as well 
as a Something which subdues.  As Freemasons we are taught that we 
came here to subdue our passions and improve ourselves in Masonry; we 
accomplish the former only as we succeed in the latter.  "Passions," 
my brother, does not mean merely anger or lust.  The passion of 
selfishness, the passion of self interest, the passion of avarice, of 
deceit, of unneighborliness, of cruelty, of carelessness; these, as 
well as all the other enemies against which man's spirit struggles 
are to be subdued and conquered; the more easily as we bring the 
fighting ranks of Freemasonry's militant teachings to engage them.
This is not intended as preaching, my brother; this is but a humble 
attempt to answer the question you are to ask yourself, as to how may 
you help Freemasonry.  You may help her by helping yourself; by 
helping your family, by helping your neighbor and your friends; and 
all these you may do by making Freemasonry the rule and guide of your 
daily life just as you make the Book upon the Altar the Rule and 
Guide of your Faith and Life.

It is not enough merely to be honest.  A Freemason's honesty is never 
questioned.  Like the sunshine it is to be taken for granted.  It is 
not enough to be just.  Justice is a conception of man.  Mercy is 
God, and Freemasonry teaches it.  It is not enough to have friends.  
A good Freemason must be a better friend than he ever expects any man 
to do to him.  For it is written, "Give, and it shall be given unto 
you."

There is room for Freemasonry in every business deal, in every act of 
every day.  There is a place for Freemasonry's smile in every 
greeting and in every kiss. There is a chance for Freemasonry's 
gentle heart in every touch of hand to a child, or word spoken to the 
weak and helpless.  There is a blessing of Freemasonry to be given to 
the ill and unfortunate, and a benediction of Freemasonry to be 
offered the sinful and the erring.

Freemasonry is the most glorious heritage; the most sublime of 
conceptions of the heart . . . and they ask, these brethren, what 
they can do for her!  They can take her to their souls; they can live 
her in their lives, they can express her in their every act, and make 
of her not a cry of man's voice to Deity, but a song of his heart . . 
. to God!