4 minute read
Being a Prince
by M. Todd McIntosh, 33˚ Active for Ohio
The Prince Commander is not with us each day as we run through our busy lives fraught with small annoyances, setbacks, and losses or blessed with smiles, advances, and wins. We are rarely, if ever, challenged to the greatest test: to lay down our own life that another may live. It is for just that reason that the penultimate degree in the pantheon of lessons of our beloved Rite captivates us, rejuvenates us, and makes us stronger men.
Each of us is just like Constans. We come to the altar of Freemasonry with pure intention, seeking something more, having been vouchsafed by our fellows. We all seek and honor the comfort of our friends and significant relationships. We can all imagine the effervescent energy of instant riches, and we all wish and pray that we can be free of the worry of health and aging. Each of us strives to better ourselves and attain the goals we have set. Yet, it takes a special individual to take all that they are, all they have achieved, all that they hope to achieve, and forsake it. Simply said: most folks aren’t wired that way.
It seems counter-intuitive that the root attribute of leadership is sacrifice. When we see our leaders, our focus is often drawn to the rewards that come from a position of leadership. We often hear in the news accounts of poor leaders who abuse this and selfishly fail by fulfilling their own needs in the face of the very rules they have established. Yet, this is not how we find true leaders.
In the message of the Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret, we find that a leader is one who leads through the example of how he conducts himself. It was not that Constans cheered the men on or thought of a winning strategy to be executed by others. It was that Constans sacrificed himself and leaped into the fray to defend that which he loved.
To be a true leader is to be a servant instead of a suppliant; one who, through his dedication, is free from the bonds of avarice and “may so live from day to day that the commonwealth shall be prospered through his industry, established through his fidelity, and honored through his integrity.” Our highest echelon teaches us the recipe:
“When the individual man, strong in the integrity of his purpose, develops his own highest manhood under the secure shield of civil, intellectual and religious liberty.”
Too often, though, we look for others to hand us this shield. In so doing, we become beholden to those that provide it to us. To be given such liberty is not the same as claiming it from within. “Man owes it to himself and to his brother men to be his own best self.” Yet, what is the key? How does one unlock this within oneself?
Our degree does not leave us wanting. There, upon the pages, upon the stage, and in our hearts, it is revealed: “No obligation imposed upon [you] by church, state, or society can, as a last resort, destroy the freedom of [your] spirit or abolish the liberty of private judgment.” Armed with this, we are free to serve others. It is this perspective that allows us to lead our communities, our endeavors, and our families, for it means that we are servants to no one but those whom we are to lead—not by title, not by fear or puissant strength, but through integrity, dedication, and devotion with and to our fellow man untethered by static obligations which seek to rule us without the benefit of free thought.
This is why ultimately Constans knew what he had to do. He, as we, wrestled with the ties that bound him to his vigil. Yet, as noble and beneficial to his future as it was, he knew that service to his fellow man was, beyond all else, the choice to make even if it meant his life.
Odds are we are not going to be faced with a hoard of barbarians breaking down the gates of our walled city placing the lives of all those we care about in peril, but we will be faced with many challenges in our daily lives where we can call on the words of our Prince Commander. For the message does not always mean actually dying for another; it also means putting another’s life or their well-being before our own—to serve another that they may thrive. Even in your daily life, amid all of your trials and tribulations, the next time that you find someone down on their luck, in need of emotional support, or just requiring a helping hand, that is your moment to be a Sublime Prince. Spes mea in Deo est!
