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by Mary KassianIt’s game time. The coach is starting his favorite players. For what seems like the hundredth time this season, your child is warming the bench. You sit in the stands with the other parents and dutifully clap and cheer – but inside, you harbor the malicious hope that your child’s teammates will play poorly, that the team will lose, and that the coach will be humiliated.
Let’s face it. Malice – the desire to see another person hurt, distressed, or brought-down – is a vicious attitude we’re all familiar with. It’s known by many names: spite, cattiness, pettiness, rancor, animosity, and enmity. Though we often shrug off this malady as insignificant and even justifiable, malice is a poisonous attitude that seriously jeopardizes our spiritual health.
Bad blood
The word malice derives from the Latin, malus, which simply means “bad.” It’s the word used to translate the New Testament kakia, which is wickedness, evil, ill-will, trouble and harm. Malice is the “badness” in one person wishing “bad” things upon another. It’s a poison that causes bad blood to run through the veins of our relationships.
The malicious person is intent on inflicting pain on others. But ironically, the damage this person inflicts on himself is even more substantial. It’s like the bee that stings an enemy in vengeance, but in the process of using its stinger, initiates its own demise.
Malice toward none – charity for all
Near the end of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln admonished the citizens of the fractured nation to have “malice toward none” and “charity for all.” Charity is unmerited kindness and favor. Lincoln’s words mirrored the sentiments of the Apostle Paul, who claimed that the antidote to malice was kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. Paul reasoned that our capacity to respond to opponents in this way is directly linked to our awareness of and gratitude for what we have received from the Father, through Jesus. Instead of malice, the Father extends unmerited grace towards us. Because of this, we can overcome malice and have charity for all.
A prescription for ill will
So how do you cure your ill will? The Apostle Paul wrote his friends in Ephesus a prescription. Grab a pen and complete this section to take a dose of this medicine. To begin, use Paul’s list of symptoms to check if you have bad blood running through your veins. Determine whether the infection is mild, moderate or severe. Jot down names or initials of people you identify in the appropriate columns.
Even a mild case of malice is not good for our spirits. According to Paul, it’s important to let God “put away” – purge – every little bit of this poison from our systems. We do this by forgiving our adversaries and allowing the kindness, tenderheartedness and forgiveness of Jesus to flood our veins and become the source of our charity towards them.
Put an “X” on the scale below to indicate how much kindness, tenderheartedness and forgiveness you have received from God:
All of God’s children have received an overabundance of his kindness, tenderheartedness and forgiveness. Next time you feel malice in your veins, make a conscious choice to ask God to help you give his charity to all.
If you have never experienced God's forgiveness you can know everlasting love today. Learn more about just how much God loves you.
Mary Kassian is author of several LifeWay Bible Studies. She and her husband Brent have mastered the art of cheering after spending countless hours watching their sons play ice hockey and volleyball. The Kassian clan and their black lab, General Beau, live in Western Canada. Visit Mary's website at www.marykassian.com.