Economy and Self-Denial
527
their income. They are economical from principle; they feel it their
duty to save, that they may have something to give.
Some of the workers, like the children of Israel, allow perverted
appetite and old habits of indulgence to clamor for the victory. They
long, as did ancient Israel, for the leeks and onions of Egypt. All
connected with these institutions should strictly adhere to the laws of
life and health, and thus give no countenance, by their example, to the
wrong habits of others.
It is transgression in the little things that first leads the soul away
from God. By their one sin in partaking of the forbidden fruit, Adam
and Eve opened the floodgates of woe upon the world. Some may
regard that transgression as a very little thing, but we see that its
consequences were anything but small. The angels in heaven have a
wider and more elevated sphere of action than we, but right with them
and right with us are one and the same thing.
It is not a mean, penurious spirit that would lead the proper officers
to reprove existing wrongs and require from all the workers justice,
economy, and self-denial. It is no coming down from proper dignity
to guard the interests of our institutions in these matters. Those who
are faithful themselves, naturally look for faithfulness in others. Strict
integrity should govern the dealings of the managers and should be
enforced upon all who labor under their direction.
Men of principle need not the restriction of locks and keys; they
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do not need to be watched and guarded. They will deal truly and
honorably at all times, alone, with no eye upon them, as well as in
public. They will not bring a stain upon their souls for any amount of
gain or selfish advantage. They scorn a mean act. Although no one
else might know it, they would know it themselves, and this would
destroy their self-respect. Those who are not conscientious and faithful
in little things would not be reformed were there laws and restrictions
and penalties upon the point.
Few have moral stamina to resist temptation, especially of the
appetite, and to practice self-denial. To some it is a temptation too
strong to be resisted to see others eat the third meal; and they imagine
they are hungry, when the feeling is not a call of the stomach for
food, but a desire of the mind that has not been fortified with firm
principle and disciplined to self-denial. The walls of self-control and
self-restriction should not in a single instance be weakened and broken