What We Do Matters More Than What We Say

My dad didn’t give lectures or sit me down for “man to man” talks. Instead, he quietly modeled righteous living. This is my remembrance of him.

My dad died yesterday.

So this won’t be my usual newsletter about taking on the high cost of health care. Instead, it’s an honor for me to remember him with you through this tribute.  

Darrell Wayne Allen was a man of few words, but his life showed that what we do is much more important than what we say. It’s easy as a parent to talk a good game with our kids. But talk is cheap, and too often it’s not backed up by our actions. We end up having to tell our kids, “Do as I say, and not as I do.” That wasn’t the case with my dad.

Dad didn’t have “man to man” talks with me. He didn’t do lectures and almost never raised his voice. But he didn’t need to. My dad blessed our family by the way he lived, which communicates more clearly than words could ever do. He modeled Godly living in such a way that he showed me and my brothers how we should live.

First and foremost, Dad was a faithful, born-again Christian, a sinner saved by God’s grace. (If you don’t know what that means, ask me and I’ll tell …