When I was 17 years old, I got my first job at Sonic, a fast food restaurant in my town. I was a carhop — the person who took your order, made limeades and milkshakes at the fountain, and skated orders out to waiting cars. 

And yes, I really wore roller skates.

It wasn’t glamorous. I learned quickly that most first jobs aren’t. Whether you work for a fast food chain, serve as a lifeguard at the community pool, babysit, mow lawns, or stock shelves at a local grocery store, this season of your work life usually doesn’t come with dream job energy. 

But 15 years later, I look back on my Sonic job with gratitude, because it taught me something I never learned in school: work matters — and not just for a paycheck.

For a lot of us, work seems like something to rush through or escape. We’re convinced that “real life” doesn’t begin until after college, after landing a “real job,” or once we finally figure out what we’re passionate about. But the Bible paints a different picture.

Work isn’t a punishment for sin. It existed before the fall (Genesis 2:15) and will still exist in the new creation. Work is a part of what it means to be human and bear God’s image. We’re designed to cultivate, build, create, and care.

Your first job isn’t just a stepping stone. It’s training in what Scripture calls stewardship, the art of using your gifts, energy, and time to serve God and love your neighbor.

Summer Jobs Teach What School Can’t

School teaches knowledge. Work teaches wisdom.

 At Sonic, I learned conflict resolution — like dealing with the customer whose milkshake wasn’t thick enough or whose fries weren’t hot enough. It was my first exposure to complaints, miscommunication, and problem-solving — not on paper, but in real time with people. Those skills still matter today.

I learned management, too. By the time I left, I was helping to run shifts and lead people older than me. Leadership wasn’t about barking orders; it was about creating an environment and culture where everyone feels supported and appreciated so we could deliver something excellent together.

I also learned financial stewardship. I worked at Sonic through college and saved up to buy my wife’s engagement ring. Nothing teaches you the value of money quite like watching how many hours go into a single big purchase. My summer job taught me how to save, how to set goals, and how good it feels to delay gratification. 

And from taking orders to delivering them, I learned what economics really is: meeting real needs in the world. Work is a way we love our neighbors. 

Your Job Probably Won’t Be Glamorous (And That’s Okay)

One of the hidden truths about adulthood is that very few people end up doing what they originally planned when they were younger. Your friends studying education become photographers. The pre-med student ends up working in marketing. The art major becomes a programmer. The psychology major starts their own business. 

Whether you become a CEO or a janitor, a social worker or a truck driver, a nurse or a mechanic, every job is dignified because every job participates in God’s work of creating, repairing, and sustaining the world.

You don’t have to be “passionate” about your job for it to matter. If a garbage truck driver does their job well, a community stays clean and healthy. If a barista makes a great latte, someone’s morning improves. If a teenager at Sonic makes an order right, a family in a minivan eats together without frustration.

That’s not merely doing a job. That’s loving your neighbor.

Why Your First Job Matters So Much 

Sociologists have actually studied this stuff. Teens and young adults who start out and work part-time often build:

• Stronger time-management skills
• Better communication habits
• Higher long-term financial literacy
• More confidence
• Better career adaptability

Those skills sound boring until you realize they’re the exact skills that employers are desperate for.

But for Christians, there’s also something deeper: Work trains your soul. It forms diligence, integrity, humility, and gratitude. Paul writes, “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). He doesn’t say “whatever job impresses you.” The glory of God can show up in sweeping floors, flipping burgers, stocking shelves, or mowing lawns — because it’s not the task that makes work sacred, but who you do it for.

Summer Jobs Can Shape a Lifetime

Your summer job won’t define you forever. But it will shape you.

It can teach you how to handle criticism with grace, how to show up on time, how to work hard even when nobody notices, and how to realize that work is more than just a paycheck — it’s worship. 

Whatever job you find, paid or unpaid, glamorous or unseen, big or small — work is one of God’s good gifts. It gives us the chance to contribute, serve, create, restore, and participate in His world.

Sometimes the most meaningful things in life begin in places we never expected — like a Sonic parking lot.

This article was originally titled “Holy Hustle” in the May 2026 issue of Peer.