Korie and Willie Robertson, of “Duck Dynasty” fame, recently discussed how they maintained their faith-based servanthood during financial hardships early in their marriage. The Robertson parents joined their daughter Sadie Robertson Huff on her podcast. The couple, who married in 1992, offered advice about generosity and gratitude even in times of financial struggle.
Korie Robertson said, “I would say I think that we were both really fortunate to be modeled that from our parents. Both of us had parents that lived different lives. He lived on the river. I lived in the neighborhood. We lived very differently, but generosity was very much at the root of both of our families.” She added that “both of our families had homes that were very open,” and she was brought up with “the idea that people were much more important than things.”
She continued, “I think that even when we were newlyweds and first married, we had that example. So, we still lived very generously and also gratefulness even during that time period. It’s kind of like what you really do with little; you will actually do with much. I think it’s really a truth. And not that we’ve ever been perfect in any of it or lived perfectly. There’s probably been seasons where we lived it out better than others. But, I think that we both had that at our core and our base because we saw that in our parents.”
Willie Robertson said he grew up in a family with little money. When he married Korie, who had a financially stable upbringing, he said there was an adjustment period of understanding how they approach money. He said, “I think everybody would agree that we were really poor. We just didn’t have a lot of money or things or anything as far as me and my and dad and my brothers. So they’d come out of the hardship and then had big dreams and aspirations. Dad worked hard, mom worked hard, but there just wasn’t a lot of cash or money.”
He recalled a date at the mall when they were younger when Korie was thirsty and wanted a Coke to drink, but Willie replied, “Well, I don’t have any money.” When she replied, “But, I’m thirsty,” he responded, “That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t have any money.” They find humor in their former financial struggles, but the couple credits God for helping them to have “a heart of gratefulness” and “a heart of generosity” even before becoming famous reality TV stars.
Willie said, “I think that can be in your heart. But also, it’s a constant thing where you have to learn and put those actions into it. It’s a decision that you have to make, and I think you can grow in that. When I think about gratitude, I think of James, where he says, ‘ Faith without action is dead.’ And then, I think about gratitude or thankfulness without action; it’s really not that big of a deal. If you’re just saying ‘thank you,’ If you don’t turn that into something and put that into ‘I’m so thankful, and I’m so grateful, … now I’m going to go and help others,’ … to me, that’s the real action point.”
Korie Robertson said she believes that “gratitude and generosity” come with “perspective” because even when they had financial struggles, they still had a roof over their heads and food to eat.