A righteous man who walks in his integrity—
How blessed are his sons after him.
PROVERBS 20:7 NASB
I have a friend who I think is a righteous man. He is not Catholic like me, but he lives his faith. I think God smiles on all righteous men no matter who they are. When I see a righteous evangelical Christian living his faith, I praise God, and I ask for His blessings on that man and his family. There are few good people in this fallen world, and they are refreshing to find. They shine like a light in this dark world.
My friend is the salt of the earth. I am forever indebted and grateful to my friend for all he has done for me and my wife. If I have a quibble with him, it would be with his discouragement in life. I was an atheist at the time when I had this conversation with him and possessed a much darker view of the world than he did. I told him that with his talents and integrity that he should start his own business. There were various ideas I tossed at him with an oil change place being one of the ideas because he had worked in that field before. His refusal of the idea was to the point.
"You can't make an honest living in that type of work," he said.
I disagreed with him despite the fact that I was an atheist and had encountered a great deal in my life by that point to make me agree with him. It seems that the righteous are at a competitive disadvantage to the unrighteous in this world when it comes to trying to make an honest living. The unrighteous cut corners, do bad by their workers, flout the law, and cheat their customers. My friend knew this because he had seen it so many times at the places where he worked. I've seen similar shadiness over the years. But he was wrong. A good man can do the right thing and operate with righteousness and integrity in this dark world and make a living and even prosper. I had too many empirical examples of these businesses such as Chick-fil-A which does the dumbest thing you can do in the fast food business--remain closed on Sundays. My argument was not so much a vindication of religion so much as a belief in the free market and the knowledge that there is always a demand for honest business. People want honest work done for them even if it may cost more than the crap work they could get from a shady undercutter. I don't know anyone who likes getting screwed over and getting ripped off, and this includes those who make their livings screwing over people and ripping them off.
I continued to argue with my friend that you can indeed make an honest living in the field of automotive service, and he continued to tell me about how dishonest people made it impossible to succeed. Then, I told him about Randy's Tire and Lube in Lugoff, SC. I've literally watched this business go from nothing to become a thriving local business. It is a family business, and they believe in the Lord. You can tell they are Christian because they are closed on Sundays and close early on Wednesdays to go to midweek prayer service. In these parts, the Wednesday prayer meeting is a big deal.
This business was recommend to me by word of mouth which is the best advertising money can't buy, and Randy and his crew have always delivered. I have always received honest and dependable service from them, and they have always done right by me. Yes, I could have gotten it cheaper from Jiffy Lube which I call "Iffy Lube." But you get what you pay for, and if you pay cheap, you pay twice. Getting ripped off by the shady people is never a moneysaver. Randy is the salt of the earth.
I've never heard anything bad about Randy, and if I did, I know the person making the claim is the dung of the earth. This is because Randy and his family are the salt of the earth. I don't know Randy personally, and he certainly hasn't cut me any deals or thrown me any money for this endorsement. I am simply grateful that such an honest business exists that I can recommend to my friends and family. And I do recommend them as often as I can.
My wife is from Florida, and she tells me all of her horror stories of getting ripped off by shady businesses down there when it comes to car repair and service. It angers me to hear these stories. Yet, she was very impressed and grateful for the honesty and service she got from Randy's when I took her car there. Like my friend, she didn't believe such businesses exist. But they do. And we all know that women are a favorite target of shady shops wanting to exploit their ignorance of all things automotive. Randy's is not like that. You can send your wife, your mother, your sister, or your daughter there, and they are not going to do unauthorized or unnecessary work or charge for work they never did. Like I said, SALT OF THE EARTH.
I highly recommend taking your car to Randy's Tire and Lube. They are worth every penny and more. And I am grateful to God that an honest and righteous man can indeed succeed doing the right thing instead of the wrong thing. It gives me hope in a world that can seem very hopeless at times. May God continue to bless this man, his family, and his wonderful business.
