Daily Dose of Logos | #24

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.” Ephesians 4:31

A couple decades ago I was summoned for jury duty. I was selected to be questioned by the attorneys, called “voir dire” meaning “to speak the truth.” It can be quite intimidating once the questioning begins. The attorneys began asking questions to determine how I might respond to the evidence in this particular criminal case.

During the questioning, one of the queries was: “Mr. Feenstra, can you explain the meaning of the word malice?” The attorney’s gaze, the silence in the courtroom, everyone’s attention on me, caused me to freeze, my mind going blank. Although I understood the concept of acting with malice, I struggled to articulate a precise definition. My face turned crimson as I managed to stammer, “Um, to do something…wrong?”

I knew that was sort of the answer, but I also knew it was wrong. Moments later they dismissed me.

I was okay with that, but as I exited the courtroom the first thing I did was look up the word malice in Dictionary.com on my phone which states: malice. The desire to harm someone; ill will. In Law, wrongful intention… I’ve never forgotten the meaning.

That was Paul’s point to the Ephesians. Stop your evil intentions. Don’t forget it!

Rather (vs. 32), be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, because God has for given you for the sake of Jesus Christ.

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Daily Bible Reading: 35 Days Through Paul’s Epistles