"PUTTING AWAY Malice!"

1 Peter 2:1-3 (ESV) "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." So many times a mole hill is made into a mountain. "Words" can be used to "CALM" a storm, or "STIR" a tempest. You can either choose to let something pass by with little fanfare, or you can knock the scab off of a sore until it is a real problem. The Apostle Peter was writing to people who were "Believers" that JESUS CHRIST was the Son of GOD. He desired for believers to get along better, setting an example to "Non-believers" on how the LOVE of CHRIST transforms lives. My putting away all of the discord among them, Believers would show there is something more important to them than being proven correct. Seeing GOD gain glory when Believers are able to overcome differences is worth more than winning a dispute. We all have opinions. It has been said "All men have opinions, and most of them are wrong!" Don't let it offend you when others disagree with you. Put away that malice. The enemy gains strongholds when we focus on what WE want, as opposed to performing GOD's Plan. Earlier, in the book of 1 Peter, he writes that we should "see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently"! When we can LOVE, even through disagreements, we are showing Christian Maturity.