FBCW STUDENTS

What Happened to Teen Summer Jobs

The potential unseen spiritual impact of why this might matter more than you think

I still remember the smell of the mall before the doors officially opened.  If you worked in one, you know the smell. Floor cleaner, the smell of soft pretzels, stale coffee, and whatever else the food court was warming up in the morning. My first truly meaningful job was at a fast-food place in the mall called Tijuana Taco. I was a teenager and I worked there with my sister, who was the assistant manager. She took the job seriously. I learned to. I prepped onions and peppers, used industrial grease solvents (probably now banned due to EPA regs) and deep cleaned EVERYTHING. I also dealt with customers who were way too intense about tacos. I learned how to show up on time, when I didn’t feel like it, and I learned how to listen to someone in authority who wasn’t my parent. I also learned how to work alongside people I wouldn’t have chosen as friends.

Why Is Everyone Getting So Easily OUTRAGED!!!!!

When every cultural moment immediately provokes outrage, something subtle but serious may be happening beneath the surface. Outrage can begin to function like a form of worship. Not in the sense that we bow to it, but in the sense that it becomes the thing that commands our attention, shapes our language, and dictates our reactions. Worship, at its core, is about what we give weight to. What we center our emotions around. What we instinctively defend. When outrage becomes our first response, not our last, measured one, we may be granting our emotional reactions an authority they were never meant to have. Outrage feels powerful. It gives us clarity, identity, and moral certainty. It makes us feel awake and aligned with “the right side.” But it also short-circuits discernment. Instead of asking, “What is true?” or “How should I respond faithfully?” we jump straight to “How do I signal my stance?” In that moment, the goal subtly shifts from faithfulness to expression. Jesus never denied emotion, but He never let emotion lead Him. He felt compassion, anger, grief, and righteous zeal, yet none of those emotions replaced obedience, wisdom, or love. His reactions were always submitted to the Father, never broadcast for validation. So the concern isn’t that we feel strongly about cultural moments. Feeling deeply is human. The concern is when our emotional reaction becomes louder than our devotion, faster than our prayer life, and more visible than our love. When that happens, outrage stops being a response and starts becoming a posture. And worship always shapes us into the image of whatever we place at the center. If Christ is truly central, then even our strongest reactions must bow to Him, slowed down, examined, and reshaped by truth, humility, and love. Otherwise, we may end up passionately defending our feelings while quietly drifting from the way of Jesus.