The Men of Iron Minute
by Chad Zueck | Director of Content Creation
Tommy Used to Work on the Docks
They should make that a line to a song. For the record, my name is not Tommy, but I used to work on a loading dock. We will get to that, but first, college. My college experience wasn’t the typical late-night, frat guy kind. As a married man with a son, college was fast-paced and demanding. I did have some fun, but the fun was minimal. I was living the typical college life in one regard, though. I was broke. I was the ramen noodles (again!) broke. My wife and I worked part-time as we pursued our degrees, so our journey left us both torn from home with a crazy work/school/homework balance. A flexible work schedule was the key. I worked at a video store, on a loading dock, and as a janitor at a department store during college. I hated every one of those jobs. The video store was a nightmare because I am not even a movie watcher. The loading dock was terrible. After all, the guys played Nickelback nonstop and the department store because people were filthy. Years later, I came to find a key to life, though. Whether you sell real estate, lead a fortune 500, or bag groceries, there is value in doing good work. All work is good if it promotes human flourishing. Check out this passage that is referred to as the “cultural mandate.”
“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Genesis 1:26-28, NIV
There is dignity in every job that promotes human flourishing.
Work is in our DNA.
PSA: Do good work well. Don’t listen to Nickelback.
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Be a better man.