48
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene
who are too rigid in carrying out their one-sided ideas of reform, and
enforcing them on others. When they take a position, they stand to it
stubbornly, and carry nearly everything over the mark.
The first class adopted the reform because some one else did. They
did not obtain a clear understanding of its principles for themselves.
Many of those who profess the truth have received it because some one
else did, and for their life they could not give the reason of their faith.
This is why they are so unstable. Instead of weighing their motives in
the light of eternity, instead of obtaining a practical knowledge of the
principles underlying all their actions, instead of digging down to the
bottom, and building upon a right foundation for themselves, they are
walking in the light of another’s torch, and will surely fail.
The other class take wrong views of the reform. They adopt too
meager a diet. They subsist upon a poor quality of food, prepared
without reference to the nourishment of the system. It is important that
food be prepared with care, so that the appetite, when not perverted,
can relish it.
Because we, from principle, discard the use of those things which
irritate the stomach and destroy health, the idea should never be given
that it is of little consequence what we eat. I do not recommend an
impoverished diet. Many who need the benefits of healthful living,
and from conscientious motives adopt what they believe to be such,
are deceived by supposing that a meager bill of fare, prepared without
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painstaking, and consisting mostly of mushes and so-called gems,
heavy and sodden, is what is meant by a reformed diet. Some use milk
and a large amount of sugar on mush, thinking that they are carrying
out health reform. But the sugar and milk combined are liable to cause
fermentation in the stomach, and are thus harmful. The free use of
sugar in any form tends to clog the system, and is not unfrequently
a cause of disease. Some think that they must eat only just such an
amount, and just such a quality, and confine themselves to two or three
kinds of food. But in eating too small an amount, and that not of the
best quality, they do not receive sufficient nourishment.
There is real common sense in health reform. People cannot all
eat the same things. Some articles of food that are wholesome and
palatable to one person, may be hurtful to another. Some cannot use
milk, while others can subsist upon it. For some, dried beans and peas
are wholesome, while others cannot digest them. Some stomachs have