Family Talk Night Light for Parents

Legacy of a Good Man

A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children. Proverbs 13:22

Dr. Willis B. Dobson was a good man. He was also my (JCD’s) uncle. He earned his Ph.D. in Shakespearean English at the University of Texas and taught for more than forty years at a small Christian college. He worked for peanuts compared to what he could have earned at a state university, but he had other priori-ties than acquiring wealth. When his beloved wife succumbed to cancer, Uncle Willis rededicated his life to the service of others. At age seventy he began a taxi service for what he called “old people.” He set up a refreshment stand in front of his house for the trash collectors. One frigid night in December, Uncle Willis and his son, Bill, walked past a drunken man sitting on a curb. My uncle suddenly stopped, went back, and placed his overcoat around the man’s shoulders. “Why did you do that?” asked Bill. “That coat is brand-new.”

“Because,” Uncle Willis replied, “I have two coats and that man has none.”

Willis B. Dobson was simply following the command of his God (see Luke 3:11). He never received great acclaim for his selfless commitment to others, but he was remembered with deep affection by his family and was a role model for me. I hope I can leave that kind of legacy to my family.

Before you say good night…

Are you modeling an attitude of service to your kids?

What were your most selfless acts in the last week? In the last year?

How can you do more for others?

Dear Father, the months and years speed by so quickly. Help us to live purposefully, remembering that our legacy to our children has little to do with money—and everything to do with how we heed and obey Your Spirit. Amen.

• From Night Light For Parents, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson
  Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved.