Christianity + Politics = ? with Sarah Kiyingi Kyama

Sarah with her husband Mr. Kyama

1.      They say “man is a political animal”; what do

you have to say?

I think it is true when you take the university definition of politics which goes something like “politics is a way of sharing power and scarce resources”. I think one Harold Lasswell defined Politics as the art of "who gets what, when, and how". So whether you are in the"official", or "public" political field or not, power, resources and sharing resources, equity, justice, etcetera, are of concern to all of us; they affect all of us.

2.      Have you been involved in politics?

Yeah, I have been involved in politics at the national level. I was the woman Member of Parliament for Rakai district from 1996 to 2006. And in between I was also a Minister of State for Internal Affairs from 1998 to 2003.

3.  They say “politics is a dirty game”, how did you as a Christian even consider getting involved?

First of all, I do not agree that politics is a dirty game. I think the people who participate make it "dirty" or "clean". Someone one day gave an illustration which I found appropriate. She likened politics to water. She said that you can add mud to water and it will be dirty, or you can keep it clean and put it to good use. So politics is clean and it is us who go in there that decide to keep it clean or make it muddy.

I must say, however, that before I joined politics, I too believed like many people, that it is politics which is dirty. This to me meant that everybody who joins politics must engage in corruption, compromise, dishonesty, etc. It is this belief that makes people think that believers must avoid engaging in public politics. Fortunately, when I joined, I found out that whereas there are many people who act according to that popular belief of politics being a dirty game, it is possible, with God, to participate in politics without engaging in the "dirty".

I joined politics when I had just returned from the Netherlands where I had been working for 4 years. After the Constitution making process was concluded in 1995, people from my home area said “Why don’t you come and stand?” So I went and stood since there was nothing I was going to lose by doing so. I was not employed at that time, because my placement back at Makerere University where I had been teaching before I went to the Netherlands had not yet materialised. So I thought to myself, "what do I lose; let me go and find out what goes on in politics." I was available, but also had nothing to lose. I didn't have much money, and didn't even think I needed it. I remember saying to God “God, I want to go into politics but I would rather lose than come out having done the [bad] things that I hear politicians do”. That was my prayer and the beginning of my journey into national politics. I was so green about politics. I did not even know how the Local Council system works.

I personally believe that God wanted me to be in politics, and He opened a way for me to stand as an MP. I did not want to go into politics my way or the people’s way but God’s way.

God did many miracles in my political career, especially during campaigns. For example, there are people who didn't know me but came looking for me to campaign for me and turned out to be very critical to my success, both times I contested (1996 and 2001). Throughout my political career, I was never in debt; not even during the campaigns. God gave me such wisdom, that by the time I went for re-election in 2001, I didn't have any outstanding pledges in the constituency, yet at that time, we earned peanuts compared to what MPs earn today. I never paid people for votes. I always told those who asked me for money for their votes that I didn't have such money. I remember during the first election (1996), on the night before voting day, my campaigner came and told me “Give us money; these people want money to vote for you,” I said “I don’t have any money; but I am also glad that I don’t have it because I do not believe in buying votes. If those people do not want to vote for me for what I stand for, that is okay.” My confidence was in God, not the people. 

4.     In your political career, was your Christianity and the politics ever at conflict?

No. I wouldn’t say they were ever at conflict. I would say that my faith informed and guided my politics. Because I was a Christian, there are certain things I was confident not to do, like buying votes. I always wanted to be able to stand up and say “God has given me success; He has brought me this far".You see, once you do it your way, not God's way to get into a position, then you will have to keep yourself in that position. God is under no obligation to complete what He did not start! That's why those who get into positions through crooked means continue in those ways.

The other example is that during my campaigns, there was pressure for me to go to campaign in bars. But I refused. I said as a Christian I would find the people in their homes, at the rallies and other places but not in the bars.  

5.   Choosing a political career in this country today is a decision that will most likely be met

with a lot of negative sentiments. Can Christianity redeem this image?

I think that is very unfortunate that believers think they shouldn’t be in politics. When you say you are going to join elective politics, everybody kind of looks at you saying “We have also lost that one” because of that attitude that politics is a dirty game. Of course there are so many immoral things that people do in politics; but why should believers expect non-believers to do Godly things? They do not have the spirit of God and hence lack the capacity to do Godly things. Yet politics affects all of us. For example now we hear of this corruption, but if there are non-believers in politics why would we expect them to resist the temptation to act corruptly? They are doing what their father (the devil) does or expects them to do. And then we start complaining “How can they do that?” What else do you expect them to do?

The only thing that can redeem politics in this nation is if we have a critical mass of believers who are willing to stand and say “No, I am not going to do that because I believe God wants me to do otherwise”.

For example, during the Constitution ammendment process to remove presidential term limits ‘Kisanja’, there were many Mps who, when you talked privately with them, they opposed the removal of term-limits. But when you would ask them if they would vote against it, then they would say things like " no I can't openly oppose it because I fear Museveni will sponsor my opponent against me", or " my child is in UK, and I need to return to Parliament to be able to pay her fees,", etc. (Needless to say, some of them, even after selling their souls, lost the election they thought they were saving.) What I found sad was that if every MP who believed that this Kisanja  was wrong voted against it, their fears would not  have come to pass because there were less people who genuinely supported it compared to those that did not. Government knew this, and that's why it brought an ammendment to the Article that required members to vote secretly on that matter, and it was changed to open voting. They were also given a bribe of five Million each. In short, whereas several Mps didn't agree with the Kisanja, they succumbed to bribery, threats and fears and voted for it.

You see, when people are not believers (born again), they are ruled by fear. They are ruled by uncertainty. They want to protect their future. But I personally know that my future is in God’s hands. I know that if I do what God wants me to do, the rest of the things, He will take care of.

For that reason, I believe that born again people should be involved in politics.

The other thing I want to say is that when the church disowns believers, it is counterproductive. Because when we say “Oh that one is also gone”, then we cannot call them to account.

I believe that if people are in politics and we say “Come we want to pray for you, we want to pray with you”, when they are taking decisions, they will be conscious of the brethren who might call and bring them to account. Like I believe you have people in your life who because of them, you cannot do certain things. The thought of how displeased they will be with you should they hear about such an ungodly act keeps you away from making compromises in your walk with God.

But many times we keep these Christian politicians at a distance; the world is pulling them in all directions, their voters are saying “Give us this, give us that". Some congregations put these politicians high up there, that they can't hold them accountable. In the end because the politician feels he is not accountable to anybody, they may slowly begin to fall away from God. This is compromise. Compromise is such that one moves from the truth little by little at a time, and before they know it, they have moved so far away they can't see the line anymore.

Therefore, I think that as a church, as a fellowship of believers, we need to ask ourselves questions such as these: What is our role in politics? How should we support those who go into politics? How can we bring them near to us to a point where we can question some of their decisions? But if we have never supported them, never given them a call to tell them we are praying for them, never invited them to dinner, then we cannot demand accountability and they are free to do what they want to do.

Another way church can be involved in politics is by for example asking during campaigns time: who is going to stand for what and we pray for them and with them. That way, believers will slowly come to appreciate that politics is something they can engage in without feeling that they are suspect in any way.

Concluding remarks from Sarah

Sometimes people come and say to me “What is your advice; should I go into politics?” And I always tell them that if you think you want to stand, go into a room, close the door behind yourself and take some days praying and fasting or whatever. But be sure to take time alone with God and find out if He calls you to the field of politics.

The Bible says “The heart is so deceitful above all things,...who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Therefore, ask yourself: What is my motive? Why do I want to go into politics? Is it because I have heard that MPs receive a lot of money? (If you are going for the money, woe unto you.) The Bible says that God gives us the desires of our hearts if we delight in Him (Psalm 37:4). So,  is your ‘desire’ a Godly desire; is it a “from God” desire? And if it is, then you will know that you are going to trust Him to take you through. Once your plans are to give Him glory, He will surely create a way even where there seems to be no way. I know because He did it for me and He can do it for anybody else. 

When you express interest in participating in elective politics, there will be people who will say to you, “Why don’t you come and stand; we will support you?” But their motives may be completely carnal, and contrary to yours. Such people may   walk with you only as long as their interests are met. Otherwise, they will declare along the way that they have decided to support another candidate. And in such a situation, if you went because people asked you to do so, you will collapse. But if you went because you know God has called you, even when  such people jump off your wagon, you will just shake the dust off and keep moving.

So it is very important for people who want to go into politics to know and be clear what their motive is and be sure that they are going in there on the calling of God, and for His Glory. Then you can be sure that He will uphold you and sustain you, just as His Word says (Isaiah 41:10).

Some cynic views about politics:

-A Politician is a person skilled in the art of compromise. Usually an elected official who got compromised to get nominated, compromised to get elected and compromised repeatedly to stay in office. (by Dick Gregory)

The Key Ring Self-Control Series 1 of 3: Money

Francis Ssennyonjo

1. In 1 Timothy 6:10, the Bible refers to the love of money as the “root of all kinds of evil”. Why do you think the Bible uses such a strong analogy?

My understanding of the word root is that it goes deep into being the foundation of a plant. The root is therefore the foundation for anything to stand or be seen. Loving money means selling out your love to something that the world system uses to control people.

The meaning of the love of money is well represented in the verse Luke 16:13: “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”  

In 1 John 5:19, the Bible says that “this world is under the sway of the evil one”. The essence of the sway rotates about things like money. Money is a “controller” in this world. So the moment your love, your heart, your being is rooted in the love of money, then trust me you are rooted in evil itself. And the concept of money is only found on this earth. It was created by man and we use it to represent material wellbeing or welfare.  

2. Has there ever been a point in your life when you felt like money was or wanted to be in the driver’s seat of your life?

Yes. Sometime in 1987, I was at that time employed by Compassion International as chief finance officer. I was involved in a lot of procurement. This particular time I was required to buy some furniture. I went and bought some good furniture but also did some bargaining on the cost of the furniture. I saved almost 25% of the estimated total cost of the furniture. As I was taking back this furniture a thought came into my mind that I should pocket this 25%.

I did pocket the money but was never at peace within me. I knew deep within me that this was wrong; I had fallen for the temptation of taking off this money and rationalized it in me by saying that it is I that had done the bargaining.

But my bargaining did not make the cost of that item to be what I was presenting in the books of accounts because I had paid a different amount all together.

That was the beginning of my understanding of how money can sway and derail an individual. And it could have been the start of my rationalizing of use of money for my own benefit and not for the benefit of the cause to which I had been called.

                                              

3. How were you able to diagnose yourself of the situation in 2 above?

By virtual of being the very person that had bought the furniture, I knew how much I had paid for it - that was the truth of the matter. By inflating it or by trying to say that I had bargained, that money I was taking off as mine was actually not my money. That is where the concept of being convicted that I am now stealing comes in. The amount I had paid for the item was the purchase price of the furniture whether I had bargained or not. The money I actually paid was the truth. Anything over and above or below that figure was not truth.

So for me, knowing the truth is what convicted me into the right direction.

4. As a Christian, what practical things did you do to put money back in its biblically right place?

One critical thing I have learnt over time is that money has got to be earned by working. To work, the whole concept of toiling, is an act of worship; it is God who initiated it not us. Therefore by us earning money otherwise, we are doing something contrary to what God wants us to do.  

The other side of the coin is that because we live in a corrupt system, a corrupt world and we are also corrupt, it calls for a lot of self control in terms of understanding our needs and working towards them.

This whole idea of trying to get rich quick, trying to get things quick, means you are cheating to get what you want.  And for me that is not the way I want(ed) my life to go. If I am to get anything, I should be able to work for it.

One has also got to understand some basic principles of life. The moment you peg your life on taking the change (locally referred to as balance) it becomes part of your system, your understanding and part of your means to achieving a given end. And one has to get to a point where they understand that this understanding is not right before God; we have got to listen to what God tells us in such circumstances and respond accordingly.

For me because I was in control of the money it was easy. I did return the money the next day. All I had to do was go back to the seller and ask him for a receipt with the actual amount I had paid.  But in some circumstances it might be hard for someone to return what they took say ten years ago. And that is where we all need to repent. We need to acknowledge that what we did was not right and bring our minds to understanding that pocketing the change is not right, it is in fact stealing. And that conviction has got to be deeply seated in your mind. Otherwise your understanding of what God says about money is already derailed and you will not be able to live within God’s parameters.

5. The more money people get, the more they seem to want just for the sake of having more. What can one do to avoid falling prey to this trend?

We need to agree on one thing here: that we are all corrupted by virtual of our sinful nature. Much of the world system propels the agenda that the more you have, the safer you feel. We have transferred our sense of security from God to material stuff and one of the reasons is because it is more tangible and kind of gives instant solutions. When you have money you feel like you can solve everything. And as a result of that our minds have shifted from trusting God to trusting other things which is in fact idol worship.  It is a process where we allow the world system and not God through His word to inform us of who we are and our complete dependence on God and His provisions. The more we look outside God’s word to the world, the more we drift from trusting God to trusting the world more.

It takes spending time, being connected with God for one to build that confidence and know that our trust should be in none other than God Himself. It has to do with building your faith in Christ, building your faith in God, all the time. Because at the end of the day and over time even those with big amounts of money get to a point where money cannot solve their problems. There are certain things about our lives that money can never solve. But for us to get to that level of understanding, we have got to keep our connection with God. Allowing His spirit, prayer and His word to be a part of every single moment of our lives. 

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Masculine Beauty - Key Ring Issue 12

    

Darrie Turner and his wife Debbie

1.       Have you in your life found anything that you would describe as beautiful? 

Yeah, my wife, literally! I also think, though, that beauty is all around us. We just have to take time to see it and enjoy it because life goes very quickly as we attend to our daily obligations. To actually see beauty you have to look at it reflectively. Beauty demands some admiration.

For example, I think my compound is very beautiful and I enjoy it, but I sometimes get so busy I don’t know I live here! It is not until I take time off and sit on the porch that I go, “oh I live in a beautiful place!” but you see, I have to stop to see the beauty.

      2.       What is it about your wife that made you come to the conclusion that she is beautiful?

It is a multiplicity of things. Beauty has to be multidimensional. If it is one dimensional, if there is only one face to it, it turns out like a painting of a vehicle that looks so real it makes you say, “oh wow, that is a cool car!”  But when you get closer you say “oh no, that is just a painting!”.

The reason for your disappointment with the painting is that you expected more of it than what you first saw. And if beauty is like that (one dimensional) it disappoints because it draws to itself, but it can’t sustain.

For Debbie, I think she is a very attractive lady, not just physically, but the things that make her beautiful are her composure, her kindness, her sense of order, her love of God. And when I saw who she was despite her difficult background, it meant that it was a choice of her will to be beautiful; she wasn’t just going with the crowd.

      3.       There is only reference of inner beauty in the Bible about women in 1 Peter 3; do you think there is anything like inner beauty in men?  Is it even necessary for a man to possess inner beauty?

I think you are asking the wrong guy because I am sometimes like  “a bull in a china closet”. You know there are men who are so organised, very proper, who always say the right thing and I am the opposite.

I think we men can bring order but not the same way women do. I think there is a beauty of power and emotion that men can have that women do not possess. I think our gifts are best used when we use power and our ideas to serve, especially our families because I think that is where men learn to serve.

You know, the Bible says a pastor or elder has to be a husband of one wife and have his house in order. It is a general statement and very broad, but in essence it is saying you have to learn from A and B before you can serve C which is the church. So what does a man learn when he is married? Not to be selfish and that is the biggest lesson at the start of any marriage. Another lesson is how to be in authority and use it for serving others. Then you can take that principle and apply it to the church.

How to use your power, your time and your skills to serve and provide for another person/people is what it means to grow from a boy to a man.

None of us knows how to be a father. When we have children we need to know God to know how to reflect HIS image as Father. We mirror God imperfectly of course, but in the process we learn how to be a good father.

So learning to give of ourselves unselfishly and use our authority to serve are the A and B which we then apply to C.

So yes, there is a beauty in what we do, but I think the beauty is different from that of the women. I wouldn’t necessarily call it beauty.

Paul uses the illustration of an aroma in I Corinthians 2:15   I think that is what men have. Men have a fragrance because of Christ.  For some people it stinks and for some people it is good.

Now Paul is not saying that we shouldn’t stink because I think we should stink in some places sometimes. We should be like the aroma of death to some people because we are opposed to what they want to do.

      4.       So there is beauty in men?

Yes, and it is found in their inner strength. What do we admire about men? Their ability to run, their ability to carry heavy things, their ability to stick to things, their ability to hold on to things, their ability not to fall apart and not lose their heads when the rest have, and so much more.  

I see those as points of admiration. Even if a man is physically weak but can hold to the right course even when it’s the harder course, you can’t help but admire him and say “there is a man!”

      5.       Can someone be beautiful inside and yet the beauty never finds its way out to manifest itself?

All I know is that whatever is inside always comes out. It is just like blood, though you have to first be pricked for it to come out.  What comes out when things are hard is the real indication of what is inside us. 

I remember one day as I was servicing my car, through my own carelessness, I put a big dent in it!   I can still see myself standing beside the car and saying “God, why did you let this happen to your car?”  At that point, in the midst of the problem, was I thankful and did I trust God? What came out of me was a complaint and it is often that way when troubles come. They allow us to see ourselves and sometimes we are surprised and don’t like what we see.  That is an indicator that is there more that God needs to do in our life.

      6.        How can men work on their inner beauty to make it better?

You can build a house the way you want it, but you cannot build yourself the way you like. We need to let God build us the way He wants.

The Bible says, “as a man thinks in his heart so is he” and it also says, “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”.

What you put in will eventually come out. God’s Word is a great re-programmer; it sets the standards. And God’s Spirit convicts us and causes our nature, say anger, to subside because, God’s standard rises up and now you have a choice: to submit to His standard or go your own way.  Before you knew Christ, you could only get angry, but now there is a standard, and God’s Spirit applies the standard to your situation.

It doesn’t alter the fact that you may get angry at times but when you do, you have a choice to make.

So I think reading God’s Word really helps in one’s process of becoming like Christ. Also, if you are struggling with something and haven’t quite beaten it, it helps having a couple of other guys you are accountable to. They can ask, “how are doing?” or “what’s been happening this week?”  And when you blow it, you may need to go back to these guys and tell them “oh, I really messed it up” and sometimes you may need their help to put it all back together.

And for men I will say that one of the things God uses is humility. He says in His word that He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. The ability to own up when you do things wrong is important. To say, “I am sorry” and ask for forgiveness instead of saying, “if you hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have done that!” is humility.

Repentance and humility are tools God uses to change our hearts; they are painful tools, but they are supposed to be painful so we can take caution next time.

     7.        How best can KBC men outwardly express the beauty inside of them?

Let us start with the reasons, because reasons do motivate us in many ways. So what are your reasons? Do you want to be a better you, do you want people to say, “oh that guy has really got it together!” or do you want people to admire Jesus?

I think as Christians, our lives are supposed to reflect Jesus’ beauty which is even a higher standard than having people admire us.

If your motive is to reflect God’s beauty, God’s Justice, God’s anger at a given time or the Father’s heart, then you will see yourself as a conduit and not as a source.

If you start with yourself by saying “I want to be a better person” then you are the source and are just polishing your reputation.

As pipes though, we want to deliver the likeness of Christ to a dead and a dying world.  This is the same desire we have in our close relationships:  for our wives and for our children.  But we cannot deliver the likeness of Christ unless we are connected to the Source.  I don’t know about you, but sometimes I worry, and worry can lead to despair and hopelessness, or it can lead to God’s throne where you say,  “okay Lord, I know you will provide”.

Like when I worry about providing for my daughter’s college education, I am reminded that I have lived 62 years by the grace of God, even my next breath is by the grace of God. So did God not know about my daughter’s education? Of course He knew!  Did it take Him by surprise when the government said they would not continue their support?  No, He knew.  At that point, my fears begin disappearing.  It doesn’t mean I deny my parental obligations.  No, we do what we can. But it does mean I cast my cares and burdens upon Him and focus on God’s ability.  

Even in love, how do we (men) love as Christ loved the church, how do we respond in a Godly way to abuse faced by others before our eyes? How you choose to respond will determine whether you are a conduit or a source.

I think we have a great role to play; we can bring the image of God to the world, in justice, truth, strength, and love; and that to me is masculine beauty.