Citizens of No Mean City
By H. Clay Trumbull
“I AM . . . a citizen of no mean city.” Paul was proud of his citizenship. He had a right to be. The good name of a man’s home reflects honor on himself. If a town has a bad name, it is to the discredit of every man whose home is there. And every man is more or less affected by, and has more or less of a share in shaping, the character of the community in which he lives. A keen eye sees at once a difference between citizens of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis. Let us, then, feel our responsibility for the character of the community about us, and endeavor to make our own its best rather than its objectionable peculiarities. The disciple of Jesus is a “citizen of no mean city;” his home is “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem”—“a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” He is a “fellow-citizen with the saints, and of the household of God.” Let him see to it that he walks worthy of his high citizenship, that he reflects no dishonor on the city which he represents before men.—H. Clay Trumbull.