Upper Loft Meditation – 1 Peter 2

“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander or every kind.” – 1 Peter 2:1

Turn down the music! Not now, maybe later! We all live with interruptions that we try to control in one way or another. Did you know there are spiritual intruders that interfere with your hearing and understanding of God’s Word?

“Therefore” refers to the previous verses that set forth the supreme importance of God’s word in all facets of life for this world and the world to come. Therefore, get rid of all intrusive factors that steal away the blessings of this rich resource.

Peter mentions five intrusions. Malice is the need to see others suffer and deceit is to intentionally mislead others. Hypocrisy is pretending to be what you are not to others, envy is a grudging desire to have what others have, and slander is an abusive verbal attack to damage others.

All of these offenses against another are the opposite of “love one another deeply, from the heart” [1:22]. It is like mud on the windshield of your car. You can see, but not very clearly.

Our attitude towards others is a big factor in our receptivity to God’s Word. Get rid of these muddy intrusions and you will hear God’s Word with greater clarity and see a lot better His path before you.

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