The Impact of Taking Your Values to Work - Updated

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

RWB Robert H. Johnson

*Note from the Editor: When I first wrote this it was true. And four years later, it's still true. The end. 

Image Credit: Zeta Group

I sometimes wonder how different my work ethic would be if I did not take the values of Freemasonry to work with me. I look back to before I was a Brother, a mere ten years ago and ask myself, do I like who I remember? Probably not as much as I would hope to. 

The values I took and continue to take from the Craft are seemingly infinite. When you think about it, there really is not one choice I make in a day that Freemasonry doesn’t impact in some way. It’s like a little reminder in the back of my brain, always there, always poking me and saying, “Hey, are you sure you want to go about it that way?” whenever I have to make a questionable judgment call. It’s like a mother-in-law guilt trip, joking of course. 

But in all seriousness, when a difficult situation arises those values just seem to come through and it shows. You see, my “day job” at the time of me writing this was in "Safety" in the workplace. Although I was not a manager, I seemed to receive more respect from employees than many others. Those same employees come to talk to me in place of the human resources department for advice, family issues and anything else and I believe its because I am able to keep secrets and offer advice which is safe, truthful and meaningful. Fast forward a few years to now. Currently I am in the executive medical industry, and guess what? Nothing has changed!

Where did I learn to do this? Well, in the place all Masons are first prepared to become  a Mason. In my heart, but those qualities were absolutely refined in the lodge rooms and anytime I opened a Masonic text.
 

My supervisors all know my lodge schedule, they don't interfere with it either. They know, that to me, it’s my “church”. They know that I am a charitable man, a good man, a powerful man (in the sense of the examples I set in honesty and integrity in the work place), and above all a rich man, not with money of course. The richness that comes from family, friends, neighbors, Brothers, Fellows and life itself. 

There are times I catch co-workers staring when I have a conversation with a well off client. They see me talking and laughing with them, shaking hands and even hugging some of them. After the client leaves my supervisors would say, “How do you know that guy?” And I simply say “He’s one of my Brothers” or more often, "I don't know them, I just met them." In the case of the later, Masonry teaches us to treat everyone like brothers and sisters, and in that, what is fostered is a genuineness that is ever growing.
   

At the end of the day, I can say that Freemasonry lends itself to a professional and meaningful experience in the work place. There is an  an excerpt, the phrase “...Plain dealings distinguish us...” which shows that we are men of truth, that there are no hidden objectives, in other words, no manure (BS), or whatever other colorful word you choose to use in our days to day dealings.

These virtues which we are taught and employ don’t stop at the threshold of ANY door, especially the work place. Freemasonry is not just a weekly meeting, it’s a way of life, and so you should employ it in everything you do in your life.

~RHJ

Robert H Johnson, 32° is the Managing Editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He currently serves as the Secretary of Waukegan Lodge No. 78 where he is a Past Master. He also serves as the District Deputy for the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts weekly Podcasts (internet radio programs) Whence Came You? & Masonic Radio Theatre which focus on topics relating to Freemasonry. He is also a co-host of The Masonic Roundtable, a Masonic talk show. He is a husband and father of four, works full time in the executive medical industry and is also an avid home brewer. He is currently working on a book of Masonic essays and one on Occult Anatomy to be released soon