Govern the Body
[
The Review and Herald, December 1, 1896
.]
Life is a gift of God. Our bodies have been given us to use in God’s
service, and He desires that we shall care for and appreciate them. We
are possessed of physical as well as mental faculties. Our impulses and
passions have their seat in the body, and therefore we must do nothing
that would defile this entrusted possession. Our bodies must be kept
in the best possible condition physically, and under the most spiritual
influences, in order that we may make the best use of our talents. Read
1 Corinthians 6:13
.
A misuse of the body shortens that period of time which God
designs shall be used in His service. By allowing ourselves to form
wrong habits, by keeping late hours, by gratifying appetite at the
expense of health, we lay the foundation for feebleness. By neglecting
to take physical exercise, by overworking mind or body, we unbalance
the nervous system. Those who thus shorten their lives by disregarding
nature’s laws are guilty of robbery toward God. We have no right to
neglect or misuse the body, the mind, or the strength, which should be
used to offer God consecrated service.
All should have an intelligent knowledge of the human frame, that
they may keep their bodies in the condition necessary to do the work
of the Lord. Those who form habits that weaken the nerve power and
lessen the vigor of mind or body, make themselves inefficient for the
work God has given them to do. On the other hand, a pure, healthy
life is most favorable for the perfection of Christian character and for
the development of the powers of mind and body.
[42]
The law of temperance must control the life of every Christian.
God is to be in all our thoughts; His glory is ever to be kept in view.
We must break away from every influence that would captivate our
thoughts and lead us from God. We are under sacred obligations to
God so to govern our bodies and rule our appetites and passions that
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