Jeremiah 38, 39, 52, 1 Peter 2
1 peter 2 tells us to put away all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander. What are they, exactly?
Malice – malice is the conscious and willful desire to hurt or harm others
Deceit – deliberately misleading or lying to others
Hypocrisy – pretending to be something you are not
Envy – desiring what others have
Slander – the act of making false, damaging statements about someone in order to harm their reputation
Is it possible to “put them away,” as Peter commands? Maybe, for a minute.
It seems similar to catching a child picking his nose. When I yell “stop it,” he stops. He will even obey for a while. Then, once he discipline wears off and the discomfort returns, his natural self takes over. The same is true for us. I might be able to take the action of putting them away for a minute but if it is to persist over the long term, I must first replace the mindset with something else.
Peter tells us directly in verse 13. He says,
Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 1 peter 1:13