Dave Thomas’s Greatest Successes

Dave Thomas’s Greatest Successes

Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. Matthew 18:5-6

What is Christ actually saying here? What does it mean to let the little children come to Jesus and to not cause them to fall into sin?

Let me suggest that it comes down to what kind of role model we are, especially to children. Are we setting a good example for them by how we live out our faith, in our lifestyle choices and in our behavior—both publicly and privately?

The late Dave Thomas founded Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers in 1969, naming the chain after his daughter, Wendy. Thomas had left school in the eighth grade, and as a result of his upbringing and his inability to get the education he still dearly wanted, he developed two passions focused on helping kids.

One was his promotion of adoption, since he was adopted. Thomas wasn’t just making a nice suggestion that he wanted people to consider. He raised multimillions of dollars to assist families who were willing to adopt but didn’t have the money to afford the expenses that the adoption process entailed. Thomas’s other passion was education. Every time he had the chance to grab the microphone before a room full of kids, he would not only encourage them but tell them to stay in school.

One day during a presentation to high school students, one of them asked, “If education’s so important, why didn’t you go back?”

Convicted by the question, Dave Thomas earned his GED in 1993 from Coconut Creek High School in Florida and was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” by his classmates. Well, of course.

Dave Thomas realized that it’s not enough to say the right things. We’ve got to live them out.

Uncommon Key > You have a responsibility to be a role model for the young people around you. Check into ways you could help a child be adopted, or assist a girl or boy struggling with educational challenges.