What are the chances God's will for you is to sit numbly in your cubicle and mindlessly pay your taxes and your mortgage while you wait for the sweet release of death?

The liberal theologians are correct in one regard: Jesus Christ was a revolutionary. He overthrew a tyrant worse than Nero, King George and Stalin combined when he defeated the prince of this world by means of his death on the cross.

And yet, in America, Christians have somehow become the de facto guardians of the middle-class taxpayer's dream. Cleanliness, an adjustable-rate mortgage and a three-car garage are not next to godliness, they are considered to be rather more important. There is, I submit, more faith in George W. Bush than Jesus Christ in the evangelical wing of the Republican party; one imagines that Karl Rove will soon prophesy of the Third Coming of The Bush, a King of the South of pure blue blood who will save America from the Scarlet Woman of Arkansas.

But the world is fallen, damned. Salvation comes through grace alone, not through politicians.

This is not to say that Christians should sit idly by, watching in mute dismay as their rights to speech and property are systematically dismantled, as their pastors' sermons are monitored and as their children are indoctrinated by left-wing pedophile propagandists masquerading as public school teachers. Action is required, but it is important to understand that only action on an individual level is capable of transforming hearts, and only when hearts are transformed can society be reformed.

Change is atomic. Transformation ordered from on high can only go so far, as the Communist leadership in country after country has discovered to their displeasure. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs did not change the world by passing laws and dictating how people would use computers; they realized their visions by transforming it one desktop at a time.

So, I encourage those Americans who are dismayed by what they see around them to abandon their trust in the saving power of party and politicians and to rely instead on God guiding their own actions. There are a multitude of small steps that will bring about that atomic change that will leave an indelible mark on those around you. Homeschool your children, or if you already do, learn to encourage other parents who are open to the concept. Take your neighbor to the gun range; it may sound strange, men, but you'll be surprised to discover how many women enjoy target shooting once they give it a shot.

Start a Bible study, but invite at least one or two nominal Christians so that the focus is on learning God's Word, not wallowing in everyone's feelings about it. Determine to be bold about admitting your belief in Jesus Christ when asked and refuse to hide your faith simply because someone might think less of you for it. And most of all, remember that you are not given a spirit of fear, but of victory.

The law is nothing before God's Law. Christians would, I think, do very well to remember that the apostle Paul was a serial lawbreaker who would have certainly fallen afoul of a three-strikes law, and that like his Lord and Savior, he was executed by the authority of the state.

If the Almighty God can use liars, adulterers, cowards and killers to further His will, He can certainly use you too. You have only but to let Him.

--Vox Day is a novelist and Christian libertarian. He is a member of the SFWA, Mensa and the Southern Baptist church, and has been down with Madden since 1992. Visit his Web log, Vox Popoli, for daily commentary and responses to reader email.