Temperance in All Things
305
Special Care Not to Overeat—In nine cases out of ten there is
more danger of eating too much than too little.... There are many sick
who suffer from no disease. The cause of their sickness is indulgence
of appetite. They think that if the food is healthful, they may eat as
much as they please. This is a great mistake. Persons whose powers
are debilitated should eat a moderate and even limited amount of food.
The system will then be enabled to do its work easily and well, and a
great deal of suffering will be saved
Do Not Deny God by One Act of Intemperance—We have been
bought with a price; therefore we are to glorify God in our body and
in our spirit, which are His. We are not to deny Him by one act of
intemperance, because the only-begotten Son of God has purchased us
at an infinite cost, even the sacrifice of His life. He did not die for us
in order that we might become slaves to evil habits, but that we might
become the sons and daughters of God, serving Him with every power
of the being
Those who have a constant realization that they stand in this re-
lation to God will not place in the stomach food which pleases the
appetite, but which injures the digestive organs. They will not spoil the
property of God by indulging improper habits of eating, drinking, or
dressing. They will take great care of the human machinery, realizing
that they must do this in order to work in copartnership with God. He
wills that they shall be healthy, happy, and useful. But in order for
them to be this, they must place their wills on the side of His will
Carry Temperance Into All Details of Home Life—We urge
that the principles of temperance be carried into all the details of home
[400]
life; that the example of parents should be a lesson of temperance;
that self-denial and self-control should be taught to the children and
enforced upon them, so far as consistent, from babyhood
In the family circle and in the church we should place Christian
temperance on an elevated platform. It should be a living, working
element, reforming habits, dispositions, and characters
[401]
19
Manuscript 1, 1876
.
20
Letter 166, 1903
.
21
Temperance, 214
.
22
The Review and Herald, September 23, 1884
.
23
Temperance, 165
.