Put it Away

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

1 Peter 2:1–3 ESV

I have twins who just turned one. And let me tell you, they are eating machines!

In today’s verse, Peter instructs, “like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk.”

If we’re anything like my twins have been in the first year of their lives, it means we should be ravenous for the pure sustenance of the gospel. The “food” that has made us taste that the Lord is good.

When babies are hungry, everyone around knows it! They will do everything they can to get what their bodies need.

This is the pattern Peter says we should follow.

Now, what will happen when we do?

Peter writes there are five things believers should “put away.”

Have You Put It Away?

So let’s check ourselves today in each of these activities.

#1. Malice is “the intention or desire to do evil.”

Do you desire to cause hurt or pain to someone else? Are you holding on to hatred or unforgiveness? Are you making plans to get revenge or attack another person?

#2. Deceit is “the action or practice of deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth.”

Do you have a habit of lying, secrecy, or hiding sinful behaviors? Do you lie at work, in your marriage, or in your small groups?

#3. Hypocrisy is “the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform.”

Is your public life the same as your private life? What moral standards do you really live by—rather merely profess?

#4. Envy is “a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck.”

Do you look at other peoples’ possessions, wishing deeply that they were yours? Are your thoughts marked by lust for someone else’s spouse? Do you burn with envy rather than shine with contentment?

#5. Slander is “making false and damaging statements about someone.”

Do you lie about people to make yourself look good? Do you embellish stories about them behind their back? Are you wounding their reputation for personal gain?

If you’re engaged in any of these five actions, take this wonderful opportunity to put them a way today!

Is the Lord so good that your pursuit of him resembles a baby desperate for milk?

Today’s devotion by Jordan Loftis, author of The Men With Bare Feet and host of The Bible Better Podcast.