So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

Peter listed several types of sin to remove from our lives. The sins Peter listed here fight against love and cause dissension among believers. The first two sins mentioned refer to general categories. The last three sins refer to the specific acts that flow out of them.

• Malice means doing evil despite the good that has been received; the desire to harm other people. Malice may be hidden behind good actions. Christians should have no part in evil actions toward others (see Colossians 3:8; James 1:21).

• Deceit means deliberately tricking or misleading by lying (see also 3:10).

• Hypocrisy means that people say one thing but do another; playacting; presenting good motives that mask selfish desire.

• Envy means desiring something possessed by someone else. This causes discontent and resentment as believers make unhealthy comparisons to one another. It also makes them unable to be thankful for the good that comes to others.

• Slander means destroying another’s good reputation by lies, gossip, rumor-spreading, etc. Malice often manifests itself through slander. We should not treat fellow Christians the way the world treats us (3:16).

Whoever gossips to you will gossip of you.

Spanish proverb