Ever wondered to yourself what makes a citizen?  According to the dictionary, a citizen is a human being who has the right to live in a country because they are born there, or legally accepted as a permanent resident.  By definition, in order to be a citizen, all one has to do is simply live.  Just live.  But, how do you go beyond that?  What takes a person from just being a living resident, to being a good citizen?  Or even a great citizen ?

Now a slew of different answers may come to your minds.  Maybe a few of you think that giving money to a charitable cause makes a good citizen.  Others of you may feel that being successful enough to support a family, buy a house, and a SUV qualifies for a good citizen.  Or maybe going to church or temple, or whatever religious service makes for an extraordinary member of a country.  Although these are noble and very desirable aspects, they are not what truly make a good citizen.  They are an all too common misconception for what constitutes a good citizen.  These thoughts are exactly what defines a regular citizen of a country.  They are all simply living and performing basic functions for a comfortable existence, or at least an existence.  This is sadly what many people limit themselves to, whether willingly or not, a lot of people surrender their ability to be a good citizen.

So what does make a good citizen?  What takes ordinary citizen to extraordinary citizen?  What makes an extraordinary citizen is service.  It is service that takes it to that next level.  Throughout history, many influential leaders have realized this truth.  “A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.” (Buddha).  Jesus said, “Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.  For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves?  Is it not the one who is at the table?  “The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.” (Ghandi)  Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualist concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”  Service is essential to the survival of a country and the improvement of humanity.  And what about serving in the military, protective forces or hospital?  What a service to give up one’s life to serve people and their rights.  Service should not be seen as the bane of your existence.  You should welcome it, have it as a desire within your heart.  Sacrifice some good things in your life for something great.  Do not serve for money or recognition, rather serve for the sake of serving.  Serving not only fulfills others, but it also fulfills you.  We need to learn to serve.

Without service, everyone follows his/her own ambitions solely for the sake of living for themselves.  Communities would die; humanity would lose itself.  A world without service is like a building with no framing.  It is hollow, and will collapse upon itself.

How do we become better at serving one another?  Volunteer at the homeless shelter or medical center, help clean up the neighborhood, and babysit for free for those who can not afford it. Help those who are in need.  It is what we are meant to do as human beings in humanity.  What does being a good citizen means to me?  What a good citizen means to me is to serve the world, the nation.  What a good citizen means to me is to serve you.