Catholic Diocese of Chipata Bishop George Lungu has warned that having power or authority without love is catastrophic.
Bishop Lungu said this teaching applies in both religious and political circles.
He said people with power should possess love and self control.
In his sermon when ordaining 29 Catholic Deacons at St. Dominic’s Major Seminary in Lusaka at the weekend, Bishop Lungu said loving without self control could be compared to a tornado.
“St. Paul says ’laying on of my hands, God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, and love and self control’. Three things, power, love and self control. Keep that sequence, power, love and self control. You people who will be ordained today will be given the power to preach the Word. Don’t apologise to anyone. Preach the Word. There is power to celebrate marriages; there is power to serve at the Lord’s altar,” Bishop Lungu preached.
“There is power but remember, power without love is catastrophic. Whether in religious circles or political circles power without love is catastrophic. I won’t go into details, reflect. And love without self control my goodness some people compare it with a tornado. Loving without self control, self control anyamata. Without self control ni tornado. What does a tornado do? It leaves a trail of debris and destruction. Power, but power with love is life giving. It is a service in humility. And so you save yourself from having power without love and self control. Remember it will be this constant awareness that it is because the Lord loves you that He set his love upon you and chose you,” Bishop Lungu said.
He told the new Deacons to be humble and loving while exercising self control.
Bishop Lungu said the 29 were ordained not because they are worthy but because of God’s love.
“Only God’s love will justify your ordination today and so my dear candidate it is not because you were always above average in academic performance, scoring distinctions that the Lord today sets you apart and appoints you to be his minister. No. It is not about distinctions here my dear brothers. It is because the Lord loves you. That He has set his love upon you and he has chosen you, consecrated for mission today. Only love justifies. What a humbling and an exciting experience to all of you who are going to be ordained today as deacon and to all of us who have already been ordained. How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me? How will I raise the cup of salvation and I will call on the Lord’s name at this altar. My joy will be at the altar raising the voice in praise of God,” he said.
Bishop Lungu continued:”And therefore, your entire life becomes a thanksgiving hymn, thanking God for his goodness. It is with this treasure buried deep in your heart, humility becomes simply a natural instinct. You don’t have to be forced to be humble. Humility becomes a natural instinct you don’t have to fight because you will realise that you don’t deserve anything except God’s love.”
He hailed the ordination of 29 Deacons as relief owing to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic that killed many people including priests.
“29 young men are soon going to be ordained deacons for the Catholic Church in Zambia. What a wonderful gift from the Lord to our local Church for the services of our brothers and sisters in Zambia and beyond. We have every reason to celebrate this day, offering hymns and prayers in thanksgiving for such a great and wonderful gift from the Lord. Let us therefore rejoice and be glad in him. Tears of joy wiping away sorrow we experienced due to COVID-19 pandemic that brought about so much suffering and death in our midst and so we celebrate this event with a sense of gratitude, deep gratitude to God for his steadfast love for us His people. In other words at the heart of this celebration is God’s love for us,” the Bishop of Chipata said.
I WOULD SUGGEST YOU GET YOUR OWN HOUSE IN ORDER
THERE ARE TOO MANY WAYWARD PRIESTS STILL
THEIR LOVE SHOULD BE TO GOD AND NOT DIRECTED ELSEWHERE
Why are Zambian Priests more into politics now than before?
I mean, read statements issuesd just in this week by different priests or clergymen, they all contain political statements, and this was UNHEARD of in LUNGU / PF era. The same clergymen were silent during gassing, just an example.
There is something wrong, Zambia is a “Christian” nation, but does that imply Christian politics? should we continue to allow priest/clergymen poking their noses into politics? Or can we forget about it and assume that this is the benefit of true democracy that is prevailing now compared to Lungu era?
Pungwa should listen to this.
When I tell you that the most detrimental issue that affects our own development as Africans is religion. When people were stealing left right and centre all these so called men of God were nowhere to seen now they have come out some after being bribed.
Genral KANENE
That’s you playing politics and being silly. The Bishop has said it clearly that this should include both religious and political circles. In other words he is saying both the church leaders such as himself and political leaders. This is what he has stipulated
********** Bishop Lungu said this teaching applies in both religious and political circles. **********