1 Peter 2:1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
Because we have received the message of the gospel with faith, our worldview should change. This new mindset also should begin to change our behavior–if we truly believe. Faith should lead to obedience. Peter moves from the topic of faith in chapter 1 to the topic of obedience in this verse. He does not separate faith and obedience, as we can see in the following verses. The two are inseparably linked. Malice is the internal feeling of anger that results in having a grudge against someone. It can descend into a sense wishing evil (“mal”) upon someone in revenge. The emotion of anger is natural. With God’s peace flowing through us, we can learn to channel this anger and let it dissolve before it reaches the level of malice. Deceit is where we purposefully try to get our own way by avoiding or rejecting the truth. We may even convince ourselves that our lie will have no impact on others. Sometimes that is true, especially if it is a small lie for convenience. Deceit can grow into bigger lies that can impact others and cause them harm. We can grow in our integrity with the help of God, others, and our own quiet time. Hypocrisy is having two different looks. For some people or situations, we may look one way, but inside, we know we are only putting on a mask. The opposite of hypocrisy is vulnerability. We do not like to be open with others for many reasons. Perhaps we have been hurt in the past and we need to protect ourselves. Perhaps we are afraid of shame or reputation. We can build confidence in our lives through more trust in God, more study and understanding, and finding people who can cheer us on and support us. Envy is jealousy for what others have. Our world is very competitive. We are bombarded every day by new stuff. We see others with new cars, nice clothes, the latest gadgets, and so on. Envy is a difficult thing to suppress and reject in a materialistic culture. And finally slander is putting someone else down by our words. Why do people do this? They believe that by putting others down, they somehow build themselves up. But in reality, when we put others down, we show our own ignorance and lack of love. Sometimes people think that sharing the latest news about someone can be a Christian thing to do. Such news is just another way of gossiping and slandering another person.
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