#000216 Biblical Business

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Dr. James Magara from Kampala, Uganda, East Africa share how he runs his business consistent with the teachings of the Bible. #000216

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Biblical Business

By Dr. James Magara

This text is in Extreme Rough draft and will be edited in the near future.

My name is Dr.James Magara. I work here in Kampala Uganda, with Jubilee dental. I have been in a private practice for 24 years. Uganda has a good name for a lot of things but also has a bad name for certain things.If you look at the list of the some of the most corrupt countries in the world. Uganda is featured somewhere there. So it means that business has a certain challenges. When I started business I decided to built it on the Biblical principles. And that meant we were to treat our employees right, it meant we were to pay our taxes. It meant we were not to cheat on our taxes on stuff like that. We do not pay bribes.And this has been tested over the years. We, I have had, I have had several situations.Sometimes we had we treat people coming in as individuals, we also treat companies. We offer them supplies treatment to companies. And one of the things that happens with companies especially is that those who pay out the checks want kickbacks. And you have a number of clinics offering the service and people began to ask that okay we are paying you this amount of money. What are you giving us? We decided not to do that at all. Not to offer any incentive, that kind of incentive so that they they don’t strike you off the list. So one time I was invited into this organization by the head of the the medical division said he wanted to discuss business. I sat in there for an hour and I could not figure out what he was asking for I was very naive. When I told the story to some friends they had a good laugh at me. They said he was just providing an opportunity for you to offer something back. Sure enough a few weeks later we were struck off the list because I did not do what I was expected to do. The interesting thing is that about 4 years down the road the people we had served well within that organization put pressure on the organization to put us back on the list. So, we came back on the list without having to do anything. More recently we had a big issue with one insurance company similar things were being muted and it was a very big test for us because when they struck us off the list we lost a very big business. So, you suffer if you decide to do things right. There are certain things you will miss but I’ve also seen that God more than makes up for it. And I have also seen that God honors those who who do things with His principles. These principles work everywhere. They work in business And the bible has a lot talk about honest scales, doing things with integrity, about maintaining a good name. A good name is better than money. And the good name will always bring clients back. So, we are not perfect We have made many mistakes. We have done wrong things. But we But we try to do things that we don’t disadvantage those who come to us and if we do anything that is wrong we give the client the benefit. We have refunded people’s money or given them the option. We have referred them to other people. And once that name is out there the name acts like a, it draws keeps drawing people. People come because of referrals. On the other hand, if one’s name is soiled then you don’t know what business does not reach you because it stops very far away. It never gets to you So, it’s very challenging as a Christian to do business properly in an environment that is hostile to the principles that we live by. But, it is possible. I can say with confidence now. Over 20 years experience it is possible to thrive even in that kind of environment.

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