Home and the Temperance Crusade
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connect themselves with God, they will have strength from Him to
resist the fiercest temptations
Temperance Is Not a Matter for Jesting—Many make the sub-
ject of temperance a matter of jest. They claim that the Lord does not
concern Himself with such minor matters as our eating and drinking.
But if the Lord had no care for these things, He would not have re-
vealed Himself to the wife of Manoah, giving her definite instructions
and twice enjoining upon her to beware lest she disregard them. Is not
this sufficient evidence that He does care for these things
Reform Begins With the Mother—The carefulness with which
the mother should guard her habits of life is taught in the Scriptures
The reform should begin with the mother before the birth of her
children; and if God’s instructions were faithfully obeyed, intemper-
ance would not exist
Not only the habits of the mother, but the training of the child were
included in the angel’s instruction to the Hebrew parents. It was not
enough that Samson, the child who was to deliver Israel, should have
a good legacy at his birth. This was to be followed by careful training.
[408]
From infancy he was to be trained to habits of strict temperance....
The directions given concerning the Hebrew children teach us that
nothing which affects the child’s physical well-being is to be neglected.
Nothing is unimportant. Every influence that affects the health of the
body has its bearing upon mind and character
Temperance and self-control should be taught from the cradle.
Upon the mother largely rests the burden of this work, and, aided by
the father, she may carry it forward successfully
Continue the Lessons at Fireside and at School—It is a most
difficult matter to unlearn the habits which have been indulged through
life and have educated the appetite. The demon of intemperance is not
easily conquered. It is of giant strength and hard to overcome. But let
parents begin a crusade against intemperance at their own firesides, in
their own families, in the principles they teach their children to follow
21
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 21, 22
.
22
Temperance, 233, 234
.
23
The Ministry of Healing, 372
.
24
The Signs of the Times, September 13, 1910
.
25
The Ministry of Healing, 379, 380
.
26
The Review and Herald, July 9, 1901
.