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In this season of political overreaction, paranoid secularist radicals compare evangelicals to the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. At the other extreme, triumphalist Christians seem giddy with power they may not truly possess.

In short, there are now abundant opportunities to point fingers at the ignorance and faults of others. But the eyes of the world are on us. Our neighbors across the street and across the ocean are asking, "Who are these evangelical Christians? What do they want? What are their priorities?" If we fault-find and do not answer the hard questions, we're making a big mistake.

Judgment begins at the house of God, according to the apostle Peter. So who are we and what are our priorities?

The answers have little to do with Inauguration Day for President Bush. The invisible, present kingdom of God is no more fully here now than it was before the election. God and his people have no more power today than on November 1. All power is God's.

Some Christians conclude, then, that political engagement is unimportant. But the same God who reminds us that he is ultimately in control also commands us to be active in all spheres of life, including politics. But we must always place our allegiance to justice, righteousness, and holiness above any political affiliation.

And for that reason, calls by some conservative Christians for political "payback" are misplaced.

"We're not a special interest group," Charles Colson explains. "We vote our conscience and what we believe is in the best general interest: That's called common grace."

Concerned Women for America's Wendy Wright puts it a different way: "We do not seek our own advancement or political power; we want to see virtue respected so the people may rejoice. Our newly exercised muscle must be used wisely, only in God's service."

But what does God want? He has told us what is good, and what he requires of us: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with him.

"As Christian citizens," says the recent National Association of Evangelicals document on civic responsibility, "we believe it is our calling to help government live up to its divine mandate to render justice."

That document and recent Christianity Todayeditorials have highlighted areas in which Christians must press their elected officials. We will not repeat all of them here, and even the concerns mentioned cannot be a full list of priorities for the next four years. But we will highlight one:

We do not doubt that America's most odious offense to justice is the unmitigated slaughter of its unborn innocents. We must not be cowed by those who would paint justice as misogyny and injustice as freedom. We must work on many fronts to protect these lives, in legislation both big and small.

"At home, the job of a President is to help cultures change. The culture needs to be changed," President Bush told Christianity Today and other publications in May. "We can promote a culture of life … . Every child welcomed to life and protected by law. That is the goal of this administration."

Bush admitted that Presidents cannot change culture alone, but he's right in saying that he shapes national conversation. The NAE document puts it this way: "While individuals transformed by the gospel change surrounding society, social institutions also shape individuals… . Lasting social change requires both personal conversion and institutional renewal and reform."

Christians should encourage the resurgence of Bush's "compassionate conservative" agenda. In more than 70 speeches and proclamations in his first term, Bush urged Americans to "love your neighbor," and Bush confidant Don Evans, who just stepped down as commerce secretary, told CT in 2003 that the Golden Rule formed the basis of the President's foreign policy.

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January 2005, Vol. 49, No. 1