September Discussion: What Are Our Duties as Masons?

Sometimes I think mankind has regressed to what society must have been like during the Roman Empire.

There is loss of respect for the value of human life. The television news reports homicide and crimes of all types as well as drug and alcohol misuse and other pursuits of pleasure that are degrading men and women. Dictators are destroying nations. The world is being threatened by nuclear weapons. Corporations are often more interested in profits than treating employees fairly or protecting the environment.

As Masons, we can serve as a model for a better society.

Our duties demand a higher sense of respect, fairness and responsibility. We develop convictions, principles and standards of behavior, which no one can buy or touch. Even though we enjoy more leisure than previous generations, we are bound by our first-degree obligations to keep a balance in our life’s work, interests and concerns. We are not caught up in the fast tempo of life. We slow down enough to enjoy the rich values life offers and our interests, sympathies and concerns include our family, our Masonic brothers and their families and our community.

As individuals, we know our job of building is never complete, that no matter how long we live, life represents unfinished business and our true measure is the length of our shadow after we are gone.