Overeating and Control of Appetite
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The Review and Herald, June 18, 1895, No. 25 (Healthful Living,
10)
Man was the crowning act of the creation of God, made in the
image of God, and designed to be a counterpart of God.... Man is
very dear to God, because he was formed in His own image. This
fact should impress us with the importance of teaching by precept and
example the sin of defiling, by the indulgence of appetite or by any
other sinful practice, the body which is designed to represent God to
the world.
Testimonies for the Church 3:561
Satan comes to man, as he came to Christ, with his overpowering
temptations to indulge appetite. He well knows his power to overcome
man upon this point. He overcame Adam and Eve in Eden upon
appetite, and they lost their blissful home. What accumulated misery
and crime have filled our world in consequence of the fall of Adam.
Entire cities have been blotted from the face of the earth because of
the debasing crimes and revolting iniquity that made them a blot upon
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the universe. Indulgence of appetite was the foundation of all their
sins.
Testimonies for the Church 3:569-570
Our people are constantly retrograding upon health reform. Satan
sees that he can not have such a controlling power over them as he
could if appetite were indulged. Under the influence of unhealthful
food, the conscience becomes stupefied, the mind becomes darkened,
and its susceptibility to impressions is blunted. But because violated
conscience is benumbed and becomes insensible, the guilt of the trans-
gressor is not lessened.
Satan is corrupting minds and destroying souls through his subtle
temptations. Will our people see and feel the sin of indulging perverted
appetite? Will they discard tea, coffee, flesh-meats, and all stimulating
food, and devote the means expended for these hurtful indulgences to
spreading the truth? These stimulants do only harm; and yet we see
that a large number of those who profess to be Christians are using
tobacco. These very men will deplore the evil of intemperance, and
while speaking against the use of liquors will eject the juice of tobacco.