jordan muck

“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” -1 Peter 2:1-3

Time for a gut check.  Take a few moments and examine yourself to see if the sins Peter communicates in his epistle ring true in your life.  If present, Peter urges us to rid ourselves so we can get back on track with God.  Repentance is the start, conscience effort in making daily changes is the process, and experience of true joy from the Holy Spirit is the reward.

Let’s dig in.

• Malice – Defined: Feeling a need to see others suffer.  In short, malice is the act of wishing harm on someone else for no reason other than to see him or her suffer.   A good personal question to ask is you suffer from malice is, “Who are you wishing would suffer right now for no reason?”  Bingo.  That person that just jumped into your mind is the one person you need to go confess your sin to immediately.  While they may respond harshly due to your previous attitude, confession is crucial.  Tell them your working at getting right with God. Pray for forgiveness.  Bring some darkness to the light.
• Deceit – Defined: The act of convincing another to believe information that is not true. One thing we fail to see about deception is that deceit is harmful to other people and you as well.  When you deceive someone you’re not only making them believe you’re a certain way, but you may deceive yourself into believing the identity or attributes you’re casting.  Deception of self is extremely hard to eliminate.  It takes a lot of people speaking truth into your life consistently and being open to believe what they say as you test everything against scripture.  Self realization is a companion of change.  Allow the Holy Spirit to openly convict you and move with Christ on the avenue of change.  A good personal question to ask yourself is, “How am I acting right now around other people?  Are my actions consistently conforming to the image of Christ in all areas of your life (or just on Sunday mornings)?
• Hypocrisy – Defined:  Pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have. Hypocrisy is a lot like deceit but I believe the act of hypocrisy happens after deception.  A hypocrite is label as soon as they are “found out”.  Think to yourself, “What are you hypocritical about?”  Again, that thing in your head that popped up is probably what you’re hypocritical about.  Still at a loss, go ask someone who is brutally honest.  They’ll tell you.  Then weight what was said against scripture and change it.  CHANGE IT!
• Envy – Defined: A desire to have something that is possessed by another.  Envy is a sin that can also be coined “lust”.  Envy can be sexual but it can also be worldly.  Embracing Christ and desiring Him provides everything we need to live a Holy life.  As you grow deeper into the word, the things of the world will pass away.
• Slander – Defined: Words falsely spoken that damage the reputation of another.  Slander hurts everyone.  Stick and stone may break my bones but word will kill me.  Seriously.  Christians have some wicked tongues.  I’ve been damaged by more adults that “fight fair” than people who “tell me how it is”.  In short, think before you say something.  I’ve heard it said before that it takes ten positive comments to build someone up and one negative remark to knock them back down.  Whether it’s behind the back or to someone’s face, slander needs to stop. (Note:  The book of James talks a lot on ways to tame the tongue.)

Knowledge without application is useless.  In obedience to the Word of God, we must make a conscious effort to remove these sins so that we can embrace a life guided by the Spirit.

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” -Psalm 34:8

Think about it.

-jordan