Large Temperance Meeting
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were to minister in holy things, that they might “put difference between
holy and unholy,” and might teach “the statutes which the Lord hath
spoken.” The effect of intoxicating liquors is to weaken the body,
confuse the mind, and debase the morals. All who occupied positions
of responsibility were to be men of strict temperance, that their minds
might be clear to discriminate between right and wrong, that they
might possess firmness of principle, and wisdom to administer justice
and to show mercy.
This direct and solemn command was to extend from generation to
generation, to the close of time. In our legislative halls and courts of
justice, no less than in our schools and churches, men of principle are
needed; men of self-control, of keen perceptions and sound judgment.
If the mind is beclouded or the principles debased by intemperance,
how can the judge render a just decision? He has rendered himself
incapable of weighing evidence or entering into critical investigation;
he has not moral power to rise above motives of self-interest or the
influence of partiality or prejudice. And because of this a human
life may be sacrificed, or an innocent man robbed of his liberty or of
the fair fame which is dearer than life itself. God has forbidden that
those to whom he has committed sacred trusts as teachers or rulers
of the people should thus unfit themselves for the duties of their high
position.
There is a lesson for parents in the instruction given to the wife of
Manoah, and to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. The angel
of the Lord brought the tidings that Manoah should become the father
of a son who was to deliver Israel; and in reply to the anxious inquiry,
“How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?” the
angel gave special directions for the mother: “Neither let her drink
wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded
her let her observe.” The child will be affected, for good or evil, by
the habits of the mother. She must herself be controlled by principle,
and must practice temperance and self-denial, if she would seek the
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welfare of her child.
And fathers as well as mothers are included in this responsibility.
Both parents transmit their own characteristics, mental and physical,
their dispositions and appetites, to their children. As the result of
parental intemperance, the children often lack physical strength and
mental and moral power. Liquor-drinkers and tobacco-lovers hand