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Testimony Studies on Diet and Foods
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 15
In the ancient Jewish service it was required that every sacrifice
should be without blemish. In the text we are told to present our bodies
a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable
service. We are God’s workmanship. The psalmist, meditating upon
the marvelous work of God in the human frame, exclaimed, “I am
fearfully and wonderfully made.” There are many who are educated
in the sciences, and are familiar with the theory of the truth, who do
not understand the laws that govern their own being. God has given
us faculties and talents; and it is our duty, as His sons and daughters,
to make the best use of them. If we weaken these powers of mind or
body by wrong habits or indulgence of perverted appetite, it will be
impossible for us to honor God as we should.
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 25-28
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth
the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth
for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a
corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”
Here the good results of self-control and temperate habits are set
forth. The various games instituted among the ancient Greeks in
honor of their gods, are presented before us by the apostle Paul to
illustrate the spiritual warfare and its reward. Those who were to
participate in these games were trained by the most severe discipline.
Every indulgence that would tend to weaken the physical powers was
forbidden. Luxurious food and wine were prohibited, in order to
promote physical vigor, fortitude, and firmness.
To win the prize for which they strove,—a chaplet of perishable
flowers, bestowed amid the applause of the multitude,—was consid-
ered the highest honor. If so much could be endured, so much self-
denial practiced, in the hope of gaining so worthless a prize, which
only one at best could obtain, how much greater should be the sacrifice,
how much more willing the self-denial, for an incorruptible crown,
and for everlasting life!
There is work for us to do—stern, earnest work. All our habits,
tastes, and inclinations must be educated in harmony with the laws of
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life and health. By this means we may secure the very best physical