It's very interesting here in looking at the things we should avoid. Unlike many of the Pauline lists of things we should abstain from, which are normally topped with things like sexual immorality and idolatry, we find this list which mostly deals with the idea of being a kind of scumbag of a person I guess the thrust of it is selfishness...all of these things are extremely self serving:
Malice is meaning intentional harm to someone,
deceit is intentionally avoiding the truth for personal gain of some kind,
hypocrisy is lying about who you are... in word or in deed...
envy has to do with simply not being happy with yourself...I mean, it involves thought about someone else but essentially it's about not being satisfied with "me".
and slander...well it's basically the verbal form of malice...talking junk about someone with the express intent of doing them or their reputation harm.

1 Peter 2:1