Do you think words wear clothes? Or maybe they hold a picture in your mind? Like the word lace. Or sugar. Or cliff.
What about the word sinecure (noun | SYE-nih-kyoor)?
It sounds like “sin a cure.” If we could all just sin a cure for all the bad things in the world. That would be a good sin. Anyway, I digress.
It looks an awful lot like sincere. But it is not.
Back to how the words dress up in their clothes. Maybe sinecure wears a tuxedo. It is a bit sleek. It is dressy in a quiet sort of way.
Sinecure means a paid position that requires little or no work. Cushy. Breezy. Sometimes eyebrow-raising. Like one of those pretty boys at the party, wearing a snappy tuxedo. Smiling, standing, with a martini in hand.
The term comes from Medieval Latin sine cura, meaning “without care”—as in, without the care of souls. It originally described certain church posts that came with income but not much pastoral duty. Over time, sinecure slid into government and corporate life, where we continue to see it all over the place.
Is a sinecure always a scandal? Not necessarily. Sometimes it can be seen as honorary. Like when people get recognized for past service.
But the word often carries a side-eyed glance. If there’s pay without effort and prestige without responsibility? Well then, we tend to sniff it out and call it what it is.
Where does this matter to us? In our own lives, it’s like a tiny compass for us.
Titles are nice, but purpose is better. Most of us would rather be useful than superficially adorned.
May we find work in our lives that’s alive with meaning. May we find our good purpose in each day, no matter how small or large. May we make the world a little better by our being here. Every day. And no sinecures.
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“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” — Theodore Roosevelt
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“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” — Aristotle
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“Labor disgraces no man; unfortunately, you occasionally find men who disgrace labor.” — Ulysses S. Grant
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