“Public Service” often falls victim to being stubbornly characterized as a fixed career path that people are inherently destined for. Long championed by high degrees, white collared suits, and names inscribed on a ballot. We, as a collective, sit back and wait for these specialists to arrive with qualifications and complex solutions to pave our roads, resource our schools, and improve the community.
Though education is a powerful tool for public service, it isn’t mutually exclusive with a servant’s heart posture. The most vital public servants in our beloved Denton County are not solely those with lavish credentials, but they are those we greet at the grocery store, or those who ensure that youth safely cross the street.
Public service is not a rigid monolith or status, but it is a character one embodies. It’s the deliberate choice to prioritize the collective over the self. In towns much like ours, our comfort and prosperity isn’t maintained exclusively through taxes, but it is preserved by the dedication and character of our public servants.
We are kept inactive when we fall into the trap of public servanthood and leadership as destined for few. We tell ourselves we aren’t qualified since we don’t have a thorough education in government or law, but in action, a degree might help you create a budget, yet it can’t teach how to love and consider thy neighbor.
So then, what does public service look like for the typical “unqualified” citizen? In practice, it looks like the individual volunteering in their free time to feed the homeless. The church congregation that creates and sustains a food pantry for those in need. The sanitation worker who’s dedicated to their task of keeping the city clean. It may very well be thoughtfully participating in council meetings, elections, and school board meetings, to do our part in letting every voice be heard regarding impactful decisions.
We must realize our community is only as strong as our most vulnerable members. The “common good” is not purely idealistic, but a shared investment dependent on all of us. We must not attribute the entirety of our civic duty to a small number of professionals. Leadership isn’t a selective gift, but a choice made by those who strive to be that someone to make a difference. You don’t require an election to be a leader, and you don’t require a degree to be a servant.
Jalyn Childers is a Flower Mound resident and a student of Government, Law, and Public Service at Abilene Christian University. She believes that local involvement is the foundation of a thriving community.
