READ: Lamentations 3:60-65
For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, LIVING IN MALICE AND ENVY, HATEFUL, AND HATING ONE ANOTHER.
Titus 3:3
Paul describes his life in the past as being full of malice, envy and hate! Indeed, that is the lot of most people in this world. Malice, ill-will, hatred and wickedness! People are filled with these evil vices before Christ saves them. Salvation removes these things from the heart of a believer. After salvation, your heart is filled with the love of God instead of hate, malice and ill-will. Indeed, your new feelings of love are a sign of your salvation (1 John 3:11-14).
So how does a believer get into malice and ill-will if these things are removed from our heart at salvation? Believers also get filled with these evil things when they are offended.
I remember a brother who was offended when he was disciplined in the ministry. He spread stories and reported me to various authorities so that they would investigate me. I marvelled at the evil intent he had towards me.
Jeremiah experienced the withering hatred and ill-will of people he had ministered to. He described them as people who devised things against him all day long. Malice is the desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on someone. The people Jeremiah was dealing with were filled with malice towards him. They wanted something bad to happen to Jeremiah. Jeremiah ended up cursing them for their persistent ill-will and malice towards him.
The person you have these hostile impulses towards is the person you blame for your humiliation. When someone offends you, a deep-seated meanness and ill-will grows in you towards the person.
Many people who develop malice and ill-will have not taken correction and rebukes well. They are so slighted by the confrontation that they go off the deep end and nurture wickedness in their hearts towards the person they believe has offended them.