I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about the differences in men regarding their practice of Freemasony. When I first entered the Craft, I spent a lot of time researching what Freemasonry offered, and what I could offer the fraternity in return. My initial researches uncovered several distinct categories of Masons.

• You have the social Masons, interested primarily in that sense of comraderie found within the lodge (or after the lodge, as so often is the case).
• There are the ritualistic Masons, for whom letter perfect adherence to the ritual is the focus of their attention.
• There are the historic enthusiasts, who focus so much on our origins and our past accomplishments that they weaken their necks looking backwards into our past.
• Fundraising Masons focus on the raising of money as the sole expression of our committment to charity, and also to ‘try and get our name out there.’
• Esoteric Masons spend broad swaths of their existence searching for meaning in our symbols, but find themselves doing so almost in isolation from the rest of the Craft.
• There are Pin and Ring Masons, who seem obsessed with the pursuit of fancy titles and shiny baubles and the increased prestige they mistakenly perceive such items bring to them.

The characterizations above do focus on the negative and could be construed as almost caricatures, exaggurations. However, those opinions were formed when I was newly entered and I’ve had some time to reflect on those first impressions.

In the past two years of my involvement with Freemasonry, I have learned that to try and fit any Mason into just one of these categories would be a grave injustice. Masons often have two or three of these interests, and pursue them with varying degrees of vigour throughout their Masonic ‘career.’ It is the vareity offered by the combinations of these interests that I think is one of the fundamental strengths of the Craft.

King Solomon, when building the Temple at Jerusalem, did not employ just one kind of builder. There were many different types of labourers, craftsmen and artisans required to erect such a monument to G-d. Likewise, these varied interests within the craft allow for men of different backgrounds, interests and capabilities to meet upon the level in one Brotherhood and learn from other Masons’ experiences and continue to work towards living a life worthy of the Divine being who gave it to us. Each member brings a unique and valuable set of skills, beliefs and qualities into Freemasonry, and it is our duty to take those characteristics and use them to our full potential, so that the brother and the fraternity might benefit.

So how do the types of Masons above look when presented in that new light?

• Social Masons, interested primarily the good and welfare of their fellow brethren: striving for happiness and communicating that happiness to others.
• There are the ritualistic Masons, who ensure the accuracy of its presentation and preserve the intent of its meaning. These brethren are constant sentries devoted to guarding the landmarks.
• There are the historic enthusiasts, who help us understand our origins and provide us with the raw material to dream about our future.
• Fundraising Masons provide us with the raw material to reconnect with our sense of charity.
• Esoteric Masons help us draw new insights from our lessons and bring a new sense of relevance to the craft in modern times.
• Ring and Pin Masons bring us a certain visibility of the craft to those outside of its membership. Provided they live up to the lessons they received, they are our walking billboards and serve as an example to others of our beliefs and values.

If every mason develops and works on two or three (or even more) of these interests throughout their lifetime, and does so while respecting and learning from his brethren’s differences, then we truly will be on the way to the better society we all envision.