Appeal to Mothers
17
dropsy, headache, loss of memory and sight, great weakness in the
back and loins, affections of the spine, and frequently, inward decay
of the head. Cancerous humor, which would lie dormant in the system
their lifetime, is inflamed, and commences its eating, destructive work.
The mind is often utterly ruined, and insanity supervenes.
[74]
The only hope for those who practice vile habits is to leave them
forever, if they place any value upon health here, and salvation here-
after. When these habits have been indulged in for quite a length of
time, it requires a determined effort to resist temptation, and refuse
the corrupt indulgence. Those who destroy themselves by their own
acts will never have eternal life. They that will continue to abuse the
health and life given them of God in this world, would not make a
right use of health and immortal life were they granted them in God’s
everlasting kingdom.
The practice of secret habits surely destroys the vital forces of the
system. All unnecessary vital action will be followed by corresponding
depression. Among the young, the vital capital, and the brain, are so
severely taxed at an early age, that there is a deficiency and great
exhaustion, which leave the system exposed to diseases of various
kinds. But the most common of these is consumption. None can
live when their vital energies are used up. They must die. God hates
everything impure, and his frown is upon all who give themselves up
to gradual and sure decay.
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of
God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall
God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”
1
Corinthians 3:16, 17
.
[75]
Those who corrupt their own bodies cannot enjoy the favor of God,
until they sincerely repent, make an entire reform, and perfect holiness
in the fear of the Lord. None can be Christians and indulge in habits
which debilitate the system, bring on a state of prostration of the vital
forces, and end in making a complete wreck of beings formed in the
image of God. This moral pollution will certainly bring its reward.
The cause must produce the results. Those who profess to be disciples
of Christ should be elevated in all their thoughts and acts, and should
ever realize that they are fitting for immortality, and that, if saved, they
must be without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. Their Christian
character must be without a blemish, or they will be pronounced unfit