Serving Others

My dad spotted the homeless man before I did, as I sat on the porch playing with the latest gadget. My mother was in the kitchen making soup for dinner. It was almost finished, I guess my dad knew that, when he called the homeless man over.

“Hey, are you hungry?” That's what I remember him asking the man, carrying a big bag over his shoulder. He nodded yes, and my dad went into the house and brought back a massive bowl of soup with cornbread on the side. The man sat on the porch and ate, saying words. He finished the soup. My dad looked down at his feet, where the man had no socks, and he went back into the house to get the man socks for his travels.

It wasn’t much, but I could see that it went a long way. The man was grateful as he continued on his journey.

Your daughter is watching your actions. How you treat her mother and how you treat others. That day, I learned my dad had a heart for others, particularly those less fortunate than him. He had six kids in the house who he needed to feed, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to help and feed someone worse off than his family. It was servant leadership. My siblings and I have served in church, on the job, through mentoring others, and have even passed those great character traits on to our kids.

We often hear about dads leaving an inheritance to their children. That inheritance doesn’t have to be just monetary. What character traits and servant leadership examples are you going to your children that will make this world a better place?