Top X July 19, 2025 Devotional
July 19, 2025
1 PETER 2:1 | 1Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.
No one approves of envy and slander! Yet, gossip and disparagement, fueled by jealousy, is so hard to avoid listening to and engaging in. We are all equal in our essential humanity and our dependance on God for mercy, direction, and grace. Yet there are so many differences which spark our comparisons and our angst. We differ in abilities and achievements, connections and influence, power and resources, appearance and attention, personality and vigor. We individually crave the perfections and characteristics we don’t have or don’t possess in abundance. Somehow pointing out others problems and weaknesses temporarily addresses our insecurities and envy. But these behaviors divide people, lending to cycles of disparagement and to divisions.
Of whom are you envious? Why so? Who are you tempted to disparage?
Gracious God,
Grant me restraint and care when speaking of others. Tame my tongue. Help me see that comparison is futile and that character, faith, and selflessness are the great achievements.
Amen.
