So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 1 Peter 2:1 NLT
When Peter writes to the Church about ridding themselves of evil, he chose five words that every sensible person believes is WRONG. Peter says, “put these away!”
- “dolos” – trickery, crafty deceit. The word comes from the word decoy.
- “kakia” – malice, nasty naughtiness, wickedness, no shame in breaking the law.
- “hypokrisis” – acting under a feigned part, a stage actor, a fake, a pretender.
- “phthonos” – envy, spiteful jealousy.
- “katalalia” – slander, backbiting, evil speaking.
Here’s what struck me. No one likes to be deceived. No one likes hypocrites. Everyone dislikes jealousy and nasty gossipers. And, when it comes to malice or a purposeful disregard for the law, it’s only those who are attracted to the bad boy/girl type who “like” it.
Point: You don’t have to be a believer, unbeliever, church or non-church goer, religious or non-religious to understand what Peter is writing about – they all agree! These are things we ALL hate and all struggle with. We have a general consensus and agreement that bad is bad.
We might not all have these behaviors frequently or all of them at once. But we do recognize them as wrong. Whether folks admit it or not, we have an internal, God-given conscience that tells us when we’re wrong. That means we have to actively override that conscience, struggling to silence it to continue to deceive, purposely pursue malice, hypocrisy, envy and be a backstabbing gossip!
Even still, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy that people can sear their own conscience in 1 Timothy 4:1-2, and get “life-advice” from demons! “Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.” Our conscience is God-given and within each of us, Romans 2:15. “God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.” If the conscience is “seared”—literally “cauterized”—then it has been rendered insensitive and become ineffective! It is wild that folks can “fry” their conscience but continue to convince themselves and others that everything is alright.
Is it more egregious to see a follower of Jesus continue to practice these behaviors with no remorse? Yes, I believe it is! Followers of Jesus should be the first ones to recognize these common human behaviors/sins and the first ones to say “I’m sorry.” We should be humble enough to not deflect our bad choices, defensively blaming others or making it sound like it’s not that big of a deal. The consequences of deception, intentional nastiness, hypocrisy, jealousy and spreading gossip is primarily pain for others. It’s also a poor representation of Jesus to the world that already believes that “Christians” look down on everyone else.
Peter’s admonition (truthful encouragement) is to get rid of these behaviors, but when we do fail and hurt someone, we should be honest about it and be quick to apologize. Even though there is an evil consensus about what is clearly bad, we can be examples of owning our own sin and show contrition (remorse) for it.
Prayer
Dad,
I have to admit, even though these behaviors are awful, I have caught myself acting them out. Not every one of them is a constant battle, but checking my behaviors and the motives behind them is a regular part of struggling. Especially when I’ve been hurt, want to get even or just feeling spiteful or awry. It is when I see a poor reflection of myself in Your Word, that I feel the pinch of Your Spirit to own it, repent of it and apologize when necessary. Honestly, the pain of asking someone’s forgiveness should be enough to help me to not act on these nasty behaviors. I am so thankful for the Holy Sprit nudges, and your mercy.