Duck Calls, Abstinence And Christianity

As a kid growing up in the Yakima Valley of Washington State, I knew people who were "duck callers"---some of them were very good, some not so good, but most of us hunted ducks.

But it is only recently that I have made the connection between duck calling and Christianity.

And I'm not the only one making the connection.

Nearly 12 million people tuned in this week to watch "Duck Dynasty" on the A&E cable television channel.

That is the highest number of viewers on a cable channel in the history of television.

What's the attraction? I think there are several reasons Americans have become fascinated with the show, two of which have to be family and faith.

While forces work to redefine family and marriage, and to suppress any expression of the Christian faith in our culture, there is a growing desire to see faith and family in action.

"Duck Dynasty" is a reality show that critics claim is about nothing. The episodes that occur on the show are not intellectually challenging for the "elite" among us, nor are they highly sophisticated.

They are, however, about family and faith.

Both are extremely important to the Robertsons.

Two of the them even talked about their sex life with the Christian Post this week.


Jason and Missy Robertson shared with the Christian Post that they decided to remain abstinent until marriage.

They said they believe that is God's desire for them.

"We were both virgins when we got married on our wedding night," Jase says. "We decided to do it God's way and basically had a godly agreement that we would help each other to get to heaven."

Jase's wife Missy says, "What attracted us to each other was what we saw in each other in our faith."

She says, "We've been happy for 22 years, before the money started coming in."

The "Duck Dynasty" show revolves around the Robertson family who had become wealthy before the television program by building a company in Louisiana that sells duck hunting products.

Yes, millions of Americans still hunt ducks. And deer and elk and so on. It only appears that every American is working to rid our country of guns because that is the mission of most media news outlets.

And millions of Americans are watching this family. Not because of duck hunting, but because they are a family. And they're openly Christian.

Missy says their children are now following in the same commitment to serve the Lord.

She says her and her husband's testimony has had a great influence on their oldest son.

She says, "Our oldest son has been dating a great girl for over a year and a half and they also have that same commitment."

The Robertson family had begun to build wealth before the TV show. I suspect the show has increased the sales of their duck calls.

But Jase says, "Fame and fortune are frivolous."

He says, "We were raised really poor, my brothers, we had one bed, one room. But nobody told us we were poor and I was just as happy."

"The reason," he says, "is because we loved who we were with our family. That's the reason we love to hunt. It's not so much about what we get to eat or how many ducks we shoot, it's about who we're with."

Jase says that following God brings happiness in a family.

"It's a great testimony," he says, "because we're like, 'Look, we don't do this because we're representing some organization. We do it because we trust in God and we believe that His way is the better way, in all things in life'."

He says, "I'm going to use whatever God blesses me with as a platform to tell the world that God is for you. He proved it through sending Jesus down here to die for us and be resurrected. And for us that gives us second chances and it gives us hope, and so we spread that message everywhere."

There are people all across America who want to identify with those who live out traditional family relations and values---those who seem to be authentic.

Although produced for television, this show apparently touches that point of need in the lives of millions of people who tune in to watch what some say is "about nothing."

I think if some folks could lay down their prejudice toward Christianity and family values functioning in a natural family environment---one where the wife is a woman and the husband is a man, and life is sacred, they might just enjoy themselves along with millions of other Americans.

They might even buy a gun and decide to go duck hunting.

Be Blessed.