Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Interesting dilemma

It has been quite awhile since my last post. This has mostly been due to being very busy between my two jobs and having no time for anything other than sleep. Unfortunately, it seems I have not learned the lessons of the 24 inch gauge very well.

Currently, I am faced with something of a dilemma. There is a young man at one of my jobs who desires to petition the Craft for membership. As far as I can determine, he meets all of the qualifications to become a Mason. I have known him for the requisite amount of time, and under normal circumstances, I would be more than happy to present him with a petition. There is, however, one little problem. Simply put, I don't like this person. This has nothing to do with anything that might disqualify him from our Fraternity, and we are civil enough to each other, but there is something about his personality that just rubs me the wrong way. Perhaps I can overcome this in the future, but as of right now, I don't want to give him a petition. Am I wrong in this?
What I find most vexing, is that he seems sincere. Over the past year I have been "stringing him along" so to speak, to try and determine his sincerity. Recently, I lent him a copy of "Freemasonry for Dummies" and told him that I wanted him to read most of it before I would proceed any further. Imagine my surprise when two days later he informed me that he had read it cover to cover. I know this may all seem heavy handed, but I have a good reason. About 6 months ago, I recommended another young man from work, and after taking his First Degree, he dropped out. Understandably, I am a bit "gun shy" now.
So my question is, what should I do? Should I go ahead and recommend him, and hope to overcome my conflict with him after he becomes a Brother or am I right in denying him the opportunity to petition our Craft?