Is Your Business a City On A Hill?

Feb 28, 2013, Written by Sue Miley


Being a city on a hill for other businesses to see how we do business the way God would want us to do business, sounds like a noble gesture, but seems more like climbing a mountain than a hill to get there.

Plus, just like we can try and try, and never be the perfect lamb like Jesus….I think the same applies to being the perfect business.

So let’s just take that off the table to begin with.

A City upon a Hill is a phrase from the parable of Salt and Light in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:14, he tells his listeners, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

Our mission at Crossroads is focused on helping other Christians in business run their business on the values God put in their hearts, our hearts.  By doing so, they may be a city on a hill, showing other businesses that you can be successful in business building it on a foundation of Christian values.

Possible City on a Hill Attributes

So what could this look like?  Maybe….

  • praying for our brothers and sisters in business, that they will see a harvest from their efforts.
  • helping others see that the Bible is as relevant in our business life as the rest of our life.
  • modeling biblical principles in our businesses so others can see that they are a help, not a hindrance, to business success.
  • standing strong in tough times and not giving in to cutting corners or managing in a way unbecoming of Jesus.
  • using the resources in our business as good stewards just as we are called to by Jesus, as all of our resources are His
  • teaching our team to work in a manner that glorifies God, which in regular English, is to do our best with whatever job we are given.
  • we are to love people in business, as they are our neighbor too.
  • to invite God into our business and to pray for His will in all of it.
  • to set bold and supernatural goals because God can do all things, and He is the one in control, not us.
  • to follow through, to follow-up and to let our “yes be yes, and our no be no” in everything that we do.
  • to treat our employees, our vendors, and our customers as we would want to be treated.
  • to choose wisdom over folly.
  • to remember that we cannot serve two masters. Business success has a variety of definitions, and if one of them is financial success, it is because the One and Only Master provided it for His purposes.
  • to pray about everything
    • Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  Philippians 4:6

These are all things we can do….but you know as well as I do, that what we do in our own power doesn’t really matter.

Most of us are small business owners.  We have limited earthly resources, skill deficits in our team, and minimal critical mass to gain momentum.  Therefore, we can’t wait until we are perfect, to shine our light.  It will never happen!

Our Part Is Faith and Obedience

But with God, none of that matters.  He can do His will through us or through someone else.  He doesn’t need us to have mass, skills, or resources.  He doesn’t need us to come up with the list of activities so that He can set us up as the perfect example.

All He needs from us is faith and obedience.  Faith that He can do all things through us, and obedience to do them whenever, however, and wherever He calls us!

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Sue Miley

Sue Miley MBA, MA, LPC helps small business owners build successful businesses on a foundation of Christian values. After 20 years in business, and 10 years as a Christian counselor, Sue uses a combination of faith, business and psychology to help clients in business and in life.

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