Cleanliness
77
freedom from disease and to the cheerfulness and vigor of the inmates
of the home
Personal Cleanliness Essential to Health—Scrupulous cleanli-
ness is essential to both physical and mental health. Impurities are
constantly thrown off from the body through the skin. Its millions
of pores are quickly clogged unless kept clean by frequent bathing,
and the impurities which should pass off through the skin become an
additional burden to the other eliminating organs.
Most persons would receive benefit from a cool or tepid bath every
day, morning or evening. Instead of increasing the liability to take
cold, a bath, properly taken, fortifies against cold because it improves
the circulation; the blood is brought to the surface, and a more easy
and regular flow is obtained. The mind and the body are alike in-
vigorated. The muscles become more flexible; the intellect is made
brighter. The bath is a soother of the nerves. Bathing helps the bowels,
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the stomach, and the liver, giving health and energy to each, and it
promotes digestion.
It is important also that the clothing be kept clean. The garments
worn absorb the waste matter that passes off through the pores; if
they are not frequently changed and washed, the impurities will be
reabsorbed
Clean Surroundings Are an Aid to Purity—I have often seen
children’s beds in such a condition that the foul, poisonous odor con-
stantly rising from them was to me unendurable. Keep everything the
eyes of the children rest upon and that comes in contact with the body,
night or day, clean and wholesome. This will be one means of educat-
ing them to choose the cleanly and the pure. Let the sleeping room
of your children be neat, however destitute it may be of expensive
furniture
Maintain a Proper Balance—Cleanliness and order are Christian
duties, yet even these may be carried too far and made the one essential,
while matters of greater importance are neglected. Those who neglect
the interests of the children for these considerations are tithing the
8
The Ministry of Healing, 276
.
9
Ibid
.
10
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 142
.