Are you harbouring malice in your heart? This is because the leaven of Malice is a destroyer of destiny. And a little of it in your life defiles you completely and aborts God’s perfect plan for your life. Surely, it is the road to destruction and must be earnestly avoided. So, beware this amazing year the leavened bread of malice.
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).
Introduction
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
The leaven of 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.
Malice is deadly
You may have done many other things to secure God’s intervention; however, the presence of malice cancels all your efforts. This is because as a leaven, it leavens the whole lump. For instance, you may have fasted and prayed, and confessed God’s word concerning an issue; malice in the heart cancels your effort. So, if you are harbouring this deadly venom within, you will not receive your desired answer. 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.
The leaven of malice keeps the word from having access to you, thereby preventing it from lightening you up. And so keeps you far from God, His blessings and protection. Again, 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). Therefore, beware this amazing year the leavened bread of malice. And if you have it, get rid of it now.
Associates of Malice
Malice is associated with terrible things including wickedness, evil, abuse, adultery, anger, arrogance, bitterness, boastfulness, brawling, and callous hearts. Also, it is associated with constant friction, deceit, disobedience, envy, evil conceits, evil suspicions and thoughts, faithlessness, filthy language, folly, and God-haters. Furthermore, 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 are all malice’s associates. In summary, malice associates with anything that is sin. and 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).
Replace Malice with Sincerity and Truth
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. And 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. Truly, God has called us to love and love does no harm to her neighbour and is the fulfilment of the law (Romans 13:10).
Conclusion
Surely, you need to take caution this amazing year of the leavened bread of malice. No matter how obedient you are to the scriptures, if you harbour 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 the leavened bread of malice and position yourself to enjoy the fruit of your labour.
What else can you say about Malice?
Jesus is Lord!
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Ngozi Nwoke
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Hi Ngozi,
You have reach deep into the heart of matter to confront this issue. Thank-you for clear description and writing on a complex topic that affect us as saints of God.
May God continue to use you to teach the bible application with the fear of the lord and sensitivity. I pray He will bless you for you have surely blessed me and those I convey this devotion to in Jesus’name.Amen
Keep on writing my sister!
Godbless
Mary
Amen. Glory to God!
Thanks Mary for your prayers. God bless you.
Personally I believe that you are not added sing the core issue at heart here which the Apostle Paul was addressing I.E sin. The word ‘malice’ in the Greek is ‘kakia’ and refers to wickedness or depravity which manifests as a wickedness that is not ashamed to break laws. The Apostle Paul uses this noun in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 in reference to the man involved with incest and then in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 18 states ; ‘Let us (believers) keep the Festival (A reference to the Feast of Unleavened Bread celebrated by the Hebrews after the passover which was a foreshadowing of the Person and Work of Jesus Christ who through His sacrifice bought for Himself with His own blood a peculiar people that would be set free from the penalty of sin as well as the power of sin which would ultimately translate into transformed lives that would be lived to God’s honour and glory.) To continue walking in sin breaking God’s laws is antithetical to the truth and the work of God’s Holy Spirit and could be compared with a Hebrew observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread by using yeast when they were explicitly told not to do so. The yeast symbolically represents sin in and for believers which we are cautioned to say no to and avoid honouring God by walking in a manner that will glorify a him and the work of His Son and the Holy Spirit in our lives by surrendering and submitting our members as slaves tob righteousness to the honour, glory and praise to God who called us out of the kingdom of darkness into His marvellous Kingdom of light. For a believer to walk in ‘malice’ is exhibiting characteristics and behaviour incongruous and inconsistent with God’s work in them ; 1 John 5 verse 18 “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin: the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one does not touch him.”
Thanks Mike for your contribution.
God bless you.