Honesty, Integrity, Trust
Greetings, Sir Knights! I’m Art Hebbeler, candidate for Deputy Grand Master, and welcome to another edition of Four Minutes with Art. This week, the topic is core values: Honesty, Integrity, and Trust.
Honesty: “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” So said Thomas Jefferson in a letter he wrote in 1819. Without honesty, no one can have integrity or trust. I believe it is important to not only be honest with others, but also with oneself. Those who know me really well know that my honesty gets me into trouble sometimes, because being honest means saying things that folks don’t always want to hear, and sometimes, saying these things generate a negative reaction from the person hearing them. Sometimes, being honest means speaking truth to power, even at the risk of losing a relationship or a position. As a candidate for a leadership position in our Order, I assure you, my Fratres, that I have no problem being honest with those who are my senior, even when doing so can result in a negative reaction.
Integrity: Brother W. Clement Stone, 33°, philanthropist, businessman, and author, once said, “”Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.” Doing the right thing is more than just telling the truth. It is telling the truth and doing the right thing when everyone isn’t watching. There is no award, honor, jewel, or office available to me that is worth sacrificing my integrity. I believe that there is nothing more valuable to a man or woman than his or her integrity, and I defend mine with all vigor, and have ended friendships when I have found a person to have no integrity. That, Sir Knights, is not going to change. You can count on my integrity.
Trust: Without honesty and integrity, there can be no trust. When trust has been lost, it takes a long time for it to be restored. I know this because I have seen the loss of trust between couples over the course of 20 years in ministry and providing pastoral care. There is a breakdown of trust in many of the relationships within our Grand Encampment. Those who feel the actions of March 12, 2022, were wrong don’t trust the current leadership or those who voted to take those actions. Among those who voted for the several issues presented, there are some who do not trust those who are seeking to reverse the decision of the majority. The challenge faced by our leadership–regardless on who wears the jewels–is to restore not only trust between each group and the leadership, but with the members of each group as well. No one man can make that happen, and even a team of men can’t restore trust overnight. However, with the help of God through the work of the Holy Spirit, I am confident we all will slowly but surely restore our trust and our relationships, and we will be better men and a stronger Order when we are through.
These three core values are “first among equals” of the factors that make me who I am and how I approach leadership. I am not going to step away from difficult issues or topics, but face them head on and with honest conversation while maintaining my integrity. That, my dear brothers in Christ, you can trust.
Thank you, my dear friends and brothers, for taking time for these few words today. I truly appreciate it, and I hope you found something useful here, no matter how small it might be. God bless you, and God bless Templar Masonry.