Reality television star of "Duck Dynasty" Jason (Jase) Robertson is an avid hunter, a husband of 22 years, and father of three. He is the second-eldest Robertson brother, and has a passion for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those who don't know Him.
The Robertson family was far from wealthy when Jase was growing up - "We were raised really poor," he said in an interview with K-LOVE. Although he shared a bed and a room with his brothers growing up, Jase enjoyed being outdoors with his family and had an enjoyable childhood. "If you're happy in that situation then you realize what true happiness is," said Jase of his upbringing. He has learned that the secret to contentment is not found in material wealth, but rather in God, in the people he loves, and in ducks. "You can't buy [those things] - I was just as happy when we had nothing," he says.
Jase came to Christ at the age of 14, and was baptized in the Ouachita River by his father Phil. "The more that I looked at this Jesus and what He did - His death, and His burial, and His resurrection - I decided to make Him Lord of my life and put my faith and trust in Him," he said in an interview with Oklahoma Christian University. While Miss Kay says he was somewhat of a Pharisee growing up, Jase matured in the Lord and began evangelizing at a young age "God uses flawed people to spread the knowledge of His Son ... if He can use me, He can use anybody," says Jase.
Jase's wife Missy admired her husband's faith and contentment growing up, and the two were married at a young age. "We've been very happy for 22 years," she said, long before the Robertsons became wealthy. In poverty and in wealth, she has learned that "No matter what circumstances come your way, if God is your solid foundation - good or bad - you're going to be happy. You're going to be joyous if you're in Him," she says.
Jase had an assortment of jobs growing up before becoming the Chief Operating Officer at Duck Commander, including roofing, telemarketing, and working at an ice cream warehouse. He invents duck calls for the family business, and is portrayed as a rival to his younger brother Willie on "Duck Dynasty." In truth, the Robertson men enjoy one another's company - Jase even says the men love to hunt because "We love who we're with - with our family ... it's not so much about what we get to eat or how many ducks we shoot, it's about who we're with."
Like many others in his family, Jase has used his fame to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. "I'm going to use whatever God blesses me with as a platform to tell the world 'Look, God is for you - He proved it through sending Jesus down here to die for us and to be resurrected ... that gives us second chances and that gives us hope,'" he says. Jase said that his family's faith seemed to be a culture shock to the show's film crew when they first arrived to film the reality television show - "We're out in the woods, we're in the water, we're singing songs to God ... I think they were a little concerned about showing our faith on national TV, but I think throughout this process they realized that when you're sincere and things are real, that's what people want to see," he said.
While the Robertson family has demonstrated that they have the maturity to "realize [that] fame is fleeting and money is fleeting, what counts is your faith and your family," says Jase, it is important for them to teach their children to be wary of the fame that they are receiving from the show. Jase tries to spend intentional time with each of his children every day. "It's not going to happen by accident. So no matter what kind of day that I've had, when I pull up in the yard I think ok, let's go in here and go to work trying to be positive and make a lasting impression on my kids, because that's my primary responsibility on who I want to see in heaven," he says. Missy and Jase want to teach their children that following God's ways will bring them the most fulfilment in life. "We trust in God and we believe His way is the better way, in all things in life," says Jase.
Jase says that his priorities are "Faith, Family, Ducks - in that order ... before the show, during the show, after the show, that's who we are," he says. In a recent Q-And-A session with the Robertsons, Jase tweeted that his favorite Bible verse is 1 Samuel 16:7 - "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" (English Standard Version).
