We must be doing something right

As an immediate follow-up to the preceding, mostly pagan, worldview which says that this person did this evil and is now dead because of it, I thought I would address a quote I've heard far too often from Christians: We must be doing something right. I've heard it in my workplace and I've heard it from a number of other Christians.

The really funny thing about where I've heard this is the context. Once I heard it applied to the fact that my company had a great sales quarter or donation income quarter (or both together). Another time, an employee of a religious activist organization said it because the media was blasting them. Wait. One Christian says we're doing right because we're raking in money (with no controversy). Another says it because their organization is generating controversy for the sake of controversy—that is, what they believe is right, but isn't sanctioned by the Bible (which definitely leads to donation income).

I'm sick and tired of people in general, and my brothers and sisters in Christ in particular (because they should be better discipled than this), making up divine approbation for themselves. There will come a time for vindication, but it's not necessarily now. And it's definitely not to be apportioned by oneself. Jesus, for example, had to wait about forty years to be vindicated concerning his prophecies about Jerusalem. He anticipated his vindication, but he never went around saying, "Look at me! Vindicated! Oh yeah!" He spent forty days after the vindication of his resurrection quietly discipling his disciples. Then he equally quietly left the scene to let them do what he told them to do. He didn't spend any effort priming the praise pump for being the last and greatest prophet. Within one generation (but still forty years) he had people saying, "Yep. Jesus was right. I'm glad he told us to flee when we saw the Roman standards." Once they caught their breath, of course.

We should be listening to what Jesus taught. We should go about our lives with firm conviction that he called us to restore his creation by loving and serving those around us. We probably don't even need to call down and upbraid the self-righteous (oopsdarnitmybad), since Jesus will do that at the appropriate time. We will humbly correct according to Scripture and Spirit those who will listen, and leave in the hands of God those who live as their own god.