Malice

Someone talked about Malice today.  I take notes as I listen and the word malice stuck with me. As I think about what goes on in our country today, there is a lot of malice. 
Malice: 

1. desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another, either because of a hostile impulse or out of deep-seated meanness: 
2. Law. evil intent on the part of a person who commits a wrongful act injurious to others.
   

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Colossians 3:8
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 1 Peter 
2:1
I am convinced the Christian way of life is what is needed to heal our country. If we payed attention to the word of God and lived by its principles, by God's ways, God's commandments, his words, we could heal our country. The words following were from President Lincoln's second inaugural address from March 4, 1865. 

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish, a just and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

Our nation was beginning to heal from the Civil War. The Civil War was not completely over until April of 1865 and Vice President Andrew Johnson became President. Andrew Johnson was a Democrat by the way and his plans were a little different than those of Abraham Lincoln, but the Republicans had a majority in congress. It is interesting to note that Lincoln said 1/8 of the population were colored slaves in this speech. In the 2000 census Blacks are listed as 12.3% of the population. The concentration of Blacks was mostly in the southern states in the 1860's.  I believe there are about 70% blacks in the little town I live in. There is still injustice today but probably at a much smaller scale than in 1860.    With malice towards none were words Lincoln used. I believe today we need to get rid of malice in our country to heal. We hear hatred directed at our current President almost daily if not every day.  We need to heal as a nation and I believe every Christian and others need to check if they are operating with malice in the words spoken today.  Our country has always had differences of opinions but the hatred and the malice seems to keep building. We as Christians need to get rid of malice out of our lives. Forgiveness is a core value of a Christian and malice needs to be replaced with forgiveness in our hearts. I have to check myself on occasion to see if I be in the faith. Malice must go out of our hearts and lives if we wish to heal. As Lincoln said Malice towards none, Charity towards all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right.  Put away all malice and deceit and hypocrisy and envy and slander, Peter tells us. We are still not a perfect people but we have come a long ways from the civil war, we have come a long ways since the civil rights gains in the 60's. Lets not go backwards with malice in our hearts but have Love / Charity for those of our nation. We disagree about a lot of things. If there was only one thought, someone is not thinking. We need Jesus in our hearts and we need to live by the word of God once again. As Lincoln said with malice toward none.  God bless, LVZ.