November 10, 2020
A WORD OF COUNSEL FOR OUR TIMES- By Bishop Felix Orji
“Those who invest all of their spiritual energies in politics will reap the whirlwind. The evidence is all around us- the paroxysms of inchoate, infantile rage suffered by those who have turned fallible politicians into saviors and devils, godlike avatars of Good vs Evil.” Camille Paglia
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Once again the USA is in turmoil over who won or didn’t win the elections; over who engaged in election fraud or who didn’t; and over which President will destroy America or not.
In light of all these uncertainties, innuendos, ungodliness, and fear mongering I ask you to trust God and pray that the Lord will help you not to be one of those who sow discord by your political idolatry and sophistry. The future of America does not depend on your political party winning this election, it depends on God and his sovereign plan for his world. Demonizing one another and making wild claims about others that cannot be proven are sins before God and can lead America into War. We must learn to trust God and not in the arm of flesh. Dr J I Packer once wrote, “To know that nothing happens in God’s world apart from God’s will may frighten the godless, but it stabilizes the saints.”
As I noted in my Synod Address, let me remind you that amid a heated political campaign in 1774, John Wesley wrote the following in his Journal:
“I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them:
1. To vote … for the person they judged most worthy,
2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against, and
3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.”
Once again, I want to remind clergy that your calling is to preach the gospel, not politics. This is a warning that you must heed as a clergyman in this Diocese.
Let him who has ears to hear, hear!
Warm regards,
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Felix Orji, OSB, DD. D. Min
Diocesan Bishop
Anglican Diocese of the West.
Coordinating Bishop of CONNAM
Holy Trinity Cathedral Church
8402 Howell Sugarland Road
Houston, Texas, 77083
www.dioceseofthewest.org
“We are justified by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. True faith always yields the fruit of obedience to one degree or another.” – Dr. R. C. Sproul
