The leavened bread of malice is a destroyer of destiny. A little of it in your life defiles you completely and aborts God’s perfect plan for your life. It is the road to destruction and must be earnestly avoided.
Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth – 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 (NKJV)
Dictionary.com defines malice as the desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another, either because of a hostile impulse or out of deep-seated meanness
Malice is a strategy of the enemy to destroy the two parties: the victim and the perpetrator. It comes from the heart and is the origin of many evil acts against somebody.
You may have done many other things to secure God’s intervention; the presence of malice cancels all your effort. This is because as a leaven, it leavens the whole lump. You may have fasted, prayed, and confessed God’s word concerning an issue, but you will not receive your desired answer if you are harboring this deadly venom within. This is because the enemy will have a reason to accuse you before God and He being a just God will abide by His word.
Malice keeps the word from having access to you, thereby preventing it from lightening you up. And it keeps you far from God, His blessings and protection. It dries up the joy of God in you, which is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10), and makes you vulnerable to sickness and diseases, Proverbs 17:22. Getting rid of malice is the solution.
Malice is associated with terrible things including wickedness, evil, abuse, adultery, anger, arrogance, bitterness, boastfulness, brawling, callous hearts, constant friction, deceit, disobedience, envy, evil conceits, evil suspicions and thoughts, faithlessness, filthy language, folly, God-haters, gossip, greed, heartlessness, hypocrisy, iniquity, insolence, lewdness, murder, oppression, pride, prowling, rage, robbed of truth, ruthlessness, scoffing, senselessness, sexual immorality, slander, strife, theft, and violence. Those who do the above will have the wrath of God upon them and will never see the kingdom of heaven. Romans 1:29-32, Ephesians 4:31, Colossians 3:8
Christ was sacrificed for us, so that we may be unleavened. Therefore, put on Christ, purge yourself, and get rid of the deadly venom before it poisons your life and destiny. Replace malice with sincerity and truth: freedom from deceit and hypocrisy.
The leaven of sincerity and truth will provoke God’s intervention. The truth will wash you clean of all malice and draw you into forgiveness and love by the Holy Spirit. God has called us to love. Love does no harm to her neighbor and is the fulfillment of the law, Romans 13:10
In conclusion, no matter how obedient you are to other scriptures, if you harbor this deadly venom and do not work in love, your obedience is futile and will not yield any fruit for you. Therefore get rid of malice and position yourself to enjoy the fruit of your labor
What else can you say about malice?
Ngozi Nwoke is a teacher, speaker, counselor, and author of “Peace Money Can’t Buy” and “The Man Jesus: What You Need to Know About Christ”. She is passionate about teaching people how to enjoy peace, God’s love, and Christian living for a more fulfilling life. Want a more fulfilling life? Subscribe for free email updates today. http://stepswithgod.com.
