This week marks the birth of the U.S.A. Other than Eagle Scouts, most of us have not had good citizenship training. Being a model citizen has gotten a bad name recently. Most of your teenagers want to avoid the “good kid” label. Role models for students are more likely to be rock stars, actors, or athletes–those whose careers are in perfect order . . . at the expense of their private lives, their relationships, and their reputations. Maybe those of us in youth ministry need to reinvent citizenship.

This week, you might point your students to Titus 3. Paul has some guideposts for good citizens: Obey authority. Do good works. Speak the truth. Keep the peace. Put others first.

Students will learn more about what we believe about being our citizenship in this country by observing what we do than they will learn from the Bible studies we teach. They observe every choice we make. (No pressure, right?) Ultimately, good citizenship is pretty simple: Do good deeds. Work to meet your daily needs. Live productive lives. Honor God and pray for those in authority over us.

You may have serious questions about the direction of our country. You may be troubled by our leadership. But how do you help your students to see that patriotism (like everything else in their life) should be under the lordship of Christ? We will never find perfect leaders and we will never become the nation God has called us to be by waiting for the perfect politician.

The remedy is life in Christ; pass it on.

Carol Bailey is a freelance writer who has ministered alongside her husband, John, through the trenches of student ministry for over 20 years. Her claims to fame are her two daughters who have survived “the fishbowl” to the ripe old ages of 18 and 20. You can read more of their family’s tales at baileysonmission@blogspot.com.