Issue 30 - October 2014

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The KEY RING is a monthly publication by the Kampala Baptist Church that seeks
to provide an avenue where men and women can share knowledge and
understanding of the word of God, experiences, encourage one another as the
older perform the act of paralambano to the younger.
Our prayer is that the Lord will speak to you through these publications.
1.They say man is a politcal animal; what do
you have to say?
I think it is true when you take the university
defniton of politcs which goes something like
politcs is a way of sharing power and scarce
resources. I think one Harold Lasswell defned
Politcs as the art of "who gets what, when, and
how". So whether you are in the "ofcial", or
"public" politcal feld or not, power, resources
and sharing resources, equity, justce, etcetera,
are of concern to all of us; they afect all of us.
2. Have you been involved in politcs?
Yeah, I have been involved in politcs at the
natonal 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 Afairs from 1998 to 2003.
3. They say politcs is a dirty game, how did you as a Christan even consider getng
involved?
First of all, I do not agree that politcs is a dirty game. I think the people who partcipate make
it "dirty" or "clean". Someone one day gave an illustraton which I found appropriate. She
likened politcs 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 politcs 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 politcs, I too believed like many people, that it is
politcs which is dirty. This to me meant that everybody who joins politcs must engage in
corrupton, compromise, dishonesty, etc. It is this belief that makes people think that
believers must avoid engaging in public politcs. Fortunately, when I joined, I found out that
whereas there are many people who act according to that popular belief of politcs being a
dirty game, it is possible, with God, to partcipate in politcs without engaging in the "dirty".
I personally believe that God wanted me to be in politcs, and He opened a way for me to
stand as an MP. I did not want to go into politcs my way or the peoples way but Gods way.
God did many miracles in my politcal 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 critcal to my
success, both tmes I contested (1996 and 2001). Through-
out my politcal career, I was never in debt; not even during
the campaigns. God gave me such wisdom, that by the tme
I went for re-electon in 2001, I didn't have any outstanding
pledges in the consttuency, yet at that tme, 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 frst electon (1996), on the night
before votng day, my campaigner came and told me Give us money; these people want
money to vote for you, I said I dont have any money; but I am also glad that I dont 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 confdence was in God, not the people.
4. In your politcal career, was your Christanity and the politcs ever at confict?
No. I wouldnt say they were ever at confict. I would say that my faith informed and guided
my politcs. Because I was a Christan, there are certain things I was confdent 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
positon, then you will have to keep yourself in that positon. God is under no obligaton to
complete what He did not start! That's why those who get into positons through crooked
means contnue 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 Christan I would
fnd the people in their homes, at the rallies and
other places but not in the bars.
5. Choosing a politcal career in this country
today is a decision that will most likely be met
with a lot of negatve sentments. Can
Christanity redeem this image?
I think that is very unfortunate that believers
think they shouldnt be in politcs. When you say
you are going to join electve politcs, everybody
kind of looks at you saying We have also lost
that one because of that attude that politcs is
a dirty game. Of course there are so many
immoral things that people do in politcs; 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 politcs afects all of us. For example
now we hear of this corrupton. But if there are non-believers in politcs why would we
expect them to resist the temptaton 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 politcs in this naton is if we have a critcal 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.
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
Gods 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 politcs.
The other thing I want to say is that when the church disowns believers, it is counter-
productve. Because when we say Oh that one is also gone, then we cannot call them to
account. I believe that if people are in politcs 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 tmes we keep these Christan politcians at a distance; the world is
pulling them in all directons, their voters are saying Give us this, give us that". Some
congregatons put these politcians high up there, that they can't hold them accountable. In
the end because the politcian 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 litle by litle at a tme, and before they know it, they have moved so far away they
can't see the line anymore.
Another way church can be involved in politcs is by for example asking during campaigns
tme: who is going to stand for what and we pray for them and with them. That way,
believers will slowly come to appreciate that politcs is something they can engage in
without feeling that they are suspect in any way.
CHRISTIANITY + POLITICS = ?
SARAH KYAMA KIYINGI
What i s on your mi nd?
What would you like the next Key Ring topic to be?
Write to us using the email address below. Thank you
Upcomi ng Event s
25 & 26
th
October - Men Lead Worship Services
31
st
October - Mens Camp (at Musana Campsite)
Pl eas e pl an t o be par t of t hes e wonder f ul t i mes of f el l ows hi p
politcs is clean
Sarah and her husband Mr. Kyama
Sarah Kyama Kiyingi
Full Interview Here: htp://kbcmen.blogspot.com/2014/09/christanity-politcs-with-sarah.html
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