DOING the Golden Rule

By R.W. Brother Robert J.F. Elsner

Grand Orator of the Most Worshipful Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Alabama

“Live pure, speak true, right wrong, Follow the King– Else, wherefore born?” This quote by the great Victorian poet Alfred Lord Tennyson is another way of describing the Golden Rule. The apocryphal book Tobit, in 4:15, instructs that we should: “¹⁵ Never do to anyone else anything that you would not want someone to do to you. Do not drink so much wine that you get drunk, and do not let drinking become a habit.” This is in line with all other religion’s prohibition against bad behavior towards other people. DO NOT is the center of almost all versions of the Golden Rule. But my question to you is if this is the same as what Tennyson is saying? Live pure, speak true, right wrong, Follow the King.

Tennyson, a Mason since his time at Trinity College, Cambridge, has a lodge named after him in Clevedon, Somerset, called Tennyson Lodge No. 4947. The lodge has permission from Tennyson’s descendants to use his family crest in its logo because of his fondness for the Craft. Tennyson probably penned some version of our statement that we are a brotherhood of men under the fatherhood of God, as those themes stretched as a subtext throughout his poetry. Live pure, speak true, right wrong, Follow the King.

Tennyson spoke about our need to work together to serve God and Country, and reminded us often that God is to be served above country. He writes in the imperative mood to covey a sense of command and urgency: Live pure, speak true, right wrong, Follow the King– Else, wherefore born? Now, too many of us have heard those occasional bad English teachers direct High School Juliets on balconies to look about for their Romeos as if “Wherefore” meant “Where,” instead of “Why?” Why were you born, if not to follow God and follow His commands? Why were you born if you are going to live impurely, speak lies, wrong people, and serve yourself? Why are you a Mason if not to live out your obligations?

Among the darkest times in Israel was when they were rudderless in the book of Judges. “In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.” This refrain appears in Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, and 21:25, and is brought up again and again in scripture. Our King is God, and He is always there as our loving Father. Are we a brotherhood of men under the fatherhood of God? When M.W. Bro. Richard gave us the golden vests and ties you see us wearing around the State, the first thing that crossed my mind was that we are to DO the Golden Rule. LIVE the Golden Rule. Revive Masonry with the Golden Rule.

For some of us who are Christians, we read in Matthew (7:12) that Jesus tells us “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Personally I like this better than the version in Luke 6:31: “³¹ Do for others just what you want them to do for you.” That seems to leave out the imperative of action without limits. In some words that might be familiar to all of us here, Paul tells us in Galatians 6:10 “Do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of the faithful” This is action. This is DOING. DO the Golden Rule. LIVE the Golden Rule. Revive Masonry with the Golden Rule.

So, what are you DOING? Going to meetings is a great start, but does Masonry end at the green beans of a festive board? Some lodges are thriving, and those are the ones DOING. But not all are in such good conditions.

In a recent article in Forbes Magazine, it was reported that the vitriol and “othering” of our fellow citizens is at an all-time high. In fact, the Edelman Trust Barometer found that 65% of respondents agreed with the following statement: “The lack of civility and mutual respect today is the worst I have ever seen,” with most respondents saying the U.S. is “extremely polarized.” Why are we polarized? The article tells us that we are polarized because we do not volunteer, Americans do not join voluntary organizations like ours, and we tend to drive people out of organizations who do not think like us politically, even when the organization, like ours, has no political inclination nor emphasis.

That Forbes article goes on to tell us that the number one reason why people volunteer and join organizations is because they are asked. We cannot ask for a man to join, but we can ask for help in doing a fundraiser. We can ask for help in being umpires at little league games that we sponsor. We can ask for help putting out flags for Veterans Day or Memorial Day. The article reminds us, as I so often do as well, that listening to people and validating their concerns is key to retaining membership. I often teach students to listen to understand, not to reply. If you listen onto to bring the spotlight back to yourself, you are not listening. If you listen to understand, you build bonds of love and trust. Leading in Lodge is remembering that it is not about YOU. It is about serving God and Humanity, and that your members are your family and humanity. The article ends with comments on Recognition yields returns. Say “Thank you” often, even if the person fell short of your expectations. You don’t always know their struggles, even if you think you do. DO good unto others. In Revelation, we are reminded that heaven has the rods paved with gold, because things that are valued in this life are common and not cared for in the next. The Golden Rule is a product of doing, and in Heaven we will all be perfect children of God, Until then, DO the Golden Rule.

LIVE the Golden Rule. Revive Masonry with the Golden Rule.

Write the Golden Rule on your heart and on your dues cards. “Live pure, speak true, right wrong, Follow the King– Else, wherefore born?”

Amen.