Christ the King jumpstart

Some of the reactions of fellow Catholics in the wake of yesterday's election have given me good fodder for the beginnings of a homily for the Solemnity of Christ the King in the not-too-distant future.  The first thing that must be said is that we acknowledge not only that Christ will be King, but that Christ is King.  All other kings fall short and are sure to disappoint.  This is no time to fall into despair because someone or another may not have been elected.  On the contrary; it is time to renew our resolve to fight for religious freedom, the right to life, and natural marriage.  What lies ahead for us is a plethora of opportunities for persecution.  And the Church has always thrived in the face of persecution.
This being the case, I want to point out that we rely too much on our earthly kings who are sure to disappoint.  As Christians, we must be in the business of bringing hearts to conversion.  This is the linchpin of this entire post, so I'll type it again: We must be in the business of bringing hearts to conversion!
This work would not be finished even if a constitutional amendment were ratified guaranteeing the right to life from the time of fertilization.  This is the goal of the pro-life movement in this country.  But even if an earthly king were to make abortion illegal, our work would not be done.  We must change hearts, bringing people to the truth that life, marriage and religious freedom are sacred.
Here's proof.  Too much dependence on earthly kings is causing the same thing to happen in reverse in another important area: Christian charity.  The required conversion of heart is not only for the three big non-negotiable principles I mentioned above.
All Christians have a mandate from Christ to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, and welcome the stranger. If we refuse to do these things, the consequence is Hell. (See Matthew 25:31-46.) Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia recently pointed out that this is the mandate given to all Christians, but it does not have to be the job of the government.  We are called to do these things out of love, desiring the good of the other. That is true Christian charity. Since human beings are made in God's image, we have the command to love all other human beings.  Once we take care of their physical needs, we can preach the Gospel to them, which is the ultimate charitable act.
People are forced to pay taxes to government at all levels.  State and national governments then turn and give what they collect to others whom they deem as needing it more.  In this country, we have a government that has taken it upon itself to replace Christian charity.  Actually, we placed it upon government one vote at a time.  Did this happen because Christians were not stepping up on their own?  Was there not enough conversion of heart?  Nature abhors a vacuum, so government steps in.  And a nanny state is not a Christian ideal.
The problem is, this same government does not produce anything but only takes from one and gives to another, often times against the will of the one from whom things are taken.  Thus we see that our opportunity to love has been taken away.  "Charity" was not done because of Christian compassion or conversion of heart, but forced.  And if it's forced, it ain't love. 
I am convinced that in this country, we get the exact government we deserve based on how we are doing in our all-important task of bringing hearts to conversion.  We've got a long way to go and a lifetime to get there.  We must work for the conversion of hearts every single day of that lifetime.