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Flesh Meats and Stimulants
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it alone. The influence of coffee is in a degree the same as tea, but
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the effect upon the system is still worse. Its influence is exciting,
and just in the degree that it elevates above par it will exhaust and
bring prostration below par. Tea and coffee drinkers carry the marks
upon their faces. The skin becomes sallow and assumes a lifeless
appearance. The glow of health is not seen upon the countenance.
Tea and coffee do not nourish the system. The relief obtained
from them is sudden, before the stomach has time to digest them.
This shows that what the users of these stimulants call strength is
only received by exciting the nerves of the stomach, which con-
vey the irritation to the brain, and this in turn is aroused to impart
increased action to the heart and short-lived energy to the entire
system. All this is false strength that we are the worse for having.
They do not give a particle of natural strength.
The second effect of tea drinking is headache, wakefulness,
palpitation of the heart, indigestion, trembling of the nerves, with
many other evils. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies
of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
unto God, which is your reasonable service.” God calls for a living
sacrifice, not a dead or dying one. When we realize the requirements
of God, we shall see that He requires us to be temperate in all things.
The end of our creation is to glorify God in our bodies and spirits,
which are His. How can we do this when we indulge the appetite to
the injury of the physical and moral powers? God requires that we
present our bodies a living sacrifice. Then the duty is enjoined on us
to preserve that body in the very best condition of health, that we
may comply with His requirements. “Whether therefore ye eat, or
drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
You have a work to do to set your house in order. Cleanse your-
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selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness
in the fear of God. You should make earnest efforts to discover your
errors, and in the fear of God, relying upon His strength, put them
away. Dear brother and sister, you need to reform in the matter of
order. You should cultivate a love for neatness and strict cleanliness.
God is a God of order. He will not sanction slack and disorderly
habits in any of His people. In your dress, in your house, in all
things, manifest taste and order. We are looked upon as a peculiar
people. The dress reform is a striking contrast to the fashion of