In Freemasonry we find both Labour and Refreshment; we are called from one to the other, and back again ‘that profit and pleasure may be the result.’ Now, at first sight, this might seem to be a rather materialistic and selfish purpose - like investing money in a company merely in order to share in its cash profits and find the pleasure in so doing.
    Is that really what we mean?
    Certainly not. A prospective candidate for Freemasonry is always interviewed by a Lodge committee to make sure that his motives are truly ‘masonic’ in every sense; and any applicant who says he wants to join because he thinks that membership of a Lodge would be ‘good for his business’ would very soon be finding himself politely shown out of the door! And even when a candidate has been approved by the committee, one of the first things he is asked at his Initiation is to confirm that he is ‘uninfluenced by mercenary or other unworthy motives.’
    The true aims of Freemasonry are summed up in the next question to the candidate as ‘a favourable opinion of the Institution, a general desire of knowledge and a sincere wish to be more extensively serviceable to one’s fellow creatures.’ In other words, the ‘profit’ will be what the initiate is able to give to the Craft as a whole, his willingness to learn and study, and that charity, without which, as the Apostle Paul wrote, ‘it profiteth me nothing.’
    Dictionaries define ‘profit’ in a number of ways: there is, of course, the recognised meaning of ‘gain, ‘advantage’, ‘benefit’, but there is also the meaning of ‘improvement’, and this probably comes nearest to what we mean when we use the word during the ceremony of opening the Lodge. Our purpose is to improve ourselves and our Brethren in our system of morality, and indeed, to extend that improvement to the world in which we live. The opening of the Second Degree makes this even clearer by linking it with education: the purpose of this degree is ‘the instruction and improvement’ of its members. That is one of the reasons why Lodges of Instruction are so important; all too often they seem to be little more than rehearsals with the accent on accuracy rather than intelligibility. ‘A general desire of knowledge’ has been professed by every initiate and this should mean rather more than the repetition of ritual that he does not fully understand.
    So much for the willingness to learn and study: there is also the sincere wish to be more extensively serviceable to one’s fellows. That wish can be fulfilled not only through financial contributions to charitable causes but also through practical assistance - especially to the disabled and the elderly, and even by just visiting and offering a cheerful word to the sick and lonely, or providing transport when needed. Profit will certainly be the result, though that profit will be to the good of masonry in general and your own Lodge in particular, by creating a favourable opinion of the Institution in the minds of future candidates.
    We turn now from ‘profit’ to ‘pleasure’ and here again it is easy to think of this as merely the enjoyment that members experience in their meetings and their meals together. Of course, there is that sort of pleasure; masons enjoy their masonry but the enjoyment is a by-product rather than an aim or object. Our real enjoyment lies in the pleasure we can give to others.
    The address to the Brethren at the end of the Installation ceremony sums it up by reminding us that we should have but one aim in view, ‘to please each other and to unite in the grand design of being happy and communicating happiness.’
    Our grand design, therefore, is to give profit and pleasure to others by communicating happiness, and thereby become happy ourselves. How often we have heard it said that we can only be truly happy when we are giving pleasure to others: happiness cannot be bought, it cannot be sought after as an object to be achieved, it can only be earned when one is giving it away. This is one of the great paradoxes of life: seek for pleasure and your life will be unfulfilled; give pleasure to others and - without trying - your life will suddenly become worth living and happiness will be yours.
    The Craft forbids topics of religious or political discussion but at the same time reminds us that our principles and tenets are founded on the basis of religious truth and virtue, and the sacred writings of all religions bear witness to the values of self-denial and mutual support, while politicians and leaders of the secular world bear witness with such advice as ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.’
    Freemasonry is built on strong foundations like this and when our times of labour and refreshment are devoted to the practical benefit of others, profit and pleasure will always be the result.