Friday 12th April 2019: 10 of Rods

Are you like one of those fellows who expose to the world their employee mentality by prating “TGIF” (“Thank God it’s Friday”) when Friday comes around? Francis Bacon notes in one of his Essays that the first law which was given to mankind after the Fall (Genesis 3: 19) was,

in sudore vultus tui comedes panem tuum, not, in sudore vultus alieni.

Francis Bacon, Essay 41, Usury

It is our lot to earn our bread through our own efforts, that is, “in the sweat of thy face” and not “in the sweat of another’s face.” This may sound like a curse, but it is of more moment to consider work as “service.” This video by Elliot Adam (an appropriate surname for today’s meditation) catches the right ethic when considering the role of work in our lives: