Order in Freemasonry

Order in Freemasonry is actually a pretty big thing. I say “actually” because many consider us to be just free thinkers and philosophizers, and thus they view Freemasons as anarchists, or “against the machine.” After all, a good many of our past brothers were involved in (or instigators of) some of History’s most famous uprisings. Take, for example, the Boston Tea Party. It has been held that the meetings leading up to the actual event were in a pub that served as a Masonic meeting place, and that the chief conspirators were Masons. What many do not realize, or fail to consider, is that Freemasons are also instrumental in instigating, or developing, a number of the institutions and inventions they take for granted and the order that is derived from them.

Back to the basics. We refer to our fraternity as an Order. The very definition of which is to bring about order, or to regulate. Regulate means to govern or direct according to rule. We are admonished to act as quiet and good citizens adhering to the dictates of our government, which many of our fraternity have done, and well, over the years. As a matter-of-fact, many freemasons are involved in government to further the agenda of order.

So, in what ways can we further the agenda of order in our daily routine? I’ve already touched on the concept of scheduling in our previous article. But what about Order in our personal dogma? Freemasonry is, after all, about making good men better.

Franklin Covey is a well-known self-help guru. He’s known all over the world for his formulas for organizing and assessing one’s life. If we are to believe in his success, the man knows what he’s talking about. As such, we can use his formulas to better further our desired result.

Franklin Covey suggests writing a personal mission statement. He believes that if you have a purpose—a defined purpose—in your life then you will be better capable of manifesting and achieving it. Purpose equals Order. Freemasonry should already provide you with a great foundation, and verbiage to use to construct your personal mission statement. But writing a mission statement isn’t going to result in a sudden transformation magically. You’ve got to read it daily and endeavor to practice the meat of it daily.

Another way (and a vital one I might add) to further order in your life is to perform a self-stress test on a regular basis. Stress is unhealthy and can cause distractions that lead to chaos in your life. Covey suggests performing a stress test on a regular basis to assess better where you are at.

Think about the way that you operate on a daily basis. Do you have outlined goals? Short range, mid, and long? Do you know where you are going in life and have a clear path? Can you achieve these goals without first applying the steps as mentioned above? Life is a constant battle between chaos and order. A person cannot merely trudge along through life, expect to be successful without taking charge and eking out a shelter of order amongst the chaos.

Here’s my challenge to you, brothers. Write out your personal mission statement and carry it with you. If you’re old tech, print and laminate it the size of a credit card and keep it in your wallet. If you’re new tech, then put it on your device where you are constantly reminded to read it. Maybe even set the alarm to remind you to read it each morning.