Could you pick your job over your devotion to your faith?

On one hand you have to make a living, but on the other you must follow the teachings of your religion. How would you deal with drawing a line between your faith and means of earning a living?

It is a common scenario in Pentecostal Churches. A new convert joins the church, but the convert’s source of income has been “ungodly”. It could be that he earns a living running a profitable bar and for a lady, that she supplements her salary to meet Kampala’s high cost of living through sleeping with a couple of men who part with something in return- a car, salon money or weekend shopping; in other words, disguised prostitution. Well, the word of God is clear, the new convert is told; it is no longer acceptable to continue living as before.

But the Christian faith is not the only one that considers as taboo some means of earning money. Sheikh Suleiman Kasule Ndirangwa, the district Khadhi of Kampala, says there are acceptable and unacceptable ways of earning a living before God. “And a Moslem should focus on pleasing God rather than the sheer pursuit of money.”

Unacceptable means of earning money
Sheikh Ndirangwa gives an example of building shrines as one of those ways of earning a living that is unacceptable to Allah, adding that when anything is an abomination before Allah, getting involved in it at any stage is considered a sin

“For example it is not only unacceptable for a Moslem to drink beer because beer drinkers are cursed, but cursed as well is whoever offers security to a beer company, or transport to a place where it is drunk or one who markets it,” the Sheikh says.

But with the limited job and business opportunities, how does a hotel proprietor for example operate without having beer on the house?

Hamis Kalema, a casual labourer, who had to give up his job, gives insight on the benefits that forsaking such a vice can bring.

Having been lucky to get a job at an Italian supermarket where his duty was to ferry goods from the car into the supermarket, Kalema felt lucky.

One day, his Italian boss came from shopping pork and asked him to carry pork items. Kalema kindly requested to be excused, but the boss stood his ground reasoning that after all, he was not asking him to eat it. Kalema, feeling insulted, walked away from his “well-paying” job immediately.

“I would rather be poor and have a good conscience rather than having a job that makes me feel guilty before Allah,” he says.

Nothing about faith just money
Shamim Nuwamanya, who has an upcountry depot that sells all manner of drinks including beers, however thinks differently.

She says, “I take it as a job, a place where I earn money without attaching any feelings to it. Although I am not staunch, I love my religion and I pray every Friday and I know that my religion discourages drinking, so I have never tried it. To me, it is just a lucrative venture that I involved myself in.”

So what does her family think about her business? She responds; “They also understand that I am just looking to earn a living.”

Pastor Alex Mitala, one of the leaders in the Born-Again Churches, also adds that when someone who has been earning an unscrupulous living, say by stealing, joins the congregation, the church tries to find something more acceptable for them to do.

Drawing a line
But away from the jobs that are clearly cut out as unacceptable in most faiths, corrupt dealings are rampant in many workplaces. Bribes exchange hands on a daily basis in most offices, and it is almost impossible for importers to do business without evading taxes in some way which is wrong if you are to go by the “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar” adage in the Christian faith. And with Uganda having over 90 per cent of her population belonging to some faith, most people are religious. So must you simply resign from your only means of survival because of your faith? Why, because your workmates will feel uncomfortable if you are not part of the “eating” and may find ways of ensuring your exit.

“I am not advising people to resign if they are in positions where bribes and mismanaging funds are inevitable,” says Ps Mitala, “but I am advising them to stand up and say, no, I will not do that!”