Diet and Spirituality
69
themselves a mark for the arrows of truth to hit, and if truth is spoken
at all, they must be wounded....
The use of unnatural stimulants is destructive to health and has
a benumbing influence upon the brain, making it impossible to ap-
[34]
preciate eternal things. Those who cherish these idols cannot rightly
value the salvation which Christ has wrought out for them by a life of
self-denial, continual suffering and reproach, and by finally yielding
His own sinless life to save perishing man from death.
Testimonies for the Church 2:70-71
It is a duty to know how to preserve the body in the very best
condition of health, and it is a sacred duty to live up to the light which
God has graciously given. If we close our eyes to the light for fear
we shall see our wrongs, which we are unwilling to forsake, our sins
are not lessened but increased. If light is turned from in one case, it
will be disregarded in another. It is just as much sin to violate the
laws of our being as to break one of the ten commandments, for we
cannot do either without breaking God’s law. We cannot love the Lord
with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, while we are loving our
appetites, our tastes, a great deal better than we love the Lord. We are
daily lessening our strength to glorify God, when He requires all our
strength, all our mind. By our wrong habits we are lessening our hold
on life, and yet professing to be Christ’s followers, preparing for the
finishing touch of immortality.
My brother and sister, you have a work to do which no one can
do for you. Awake from your lethargy, and Christ shall give you
life. Change your course of living, your eating, your drinking, and
your working. While you pursue the course you have been following
for years, you cannot clearly discern sacred and eternal things. Your
sensibilities are blunted, and your intellect beclouded. You have not
been growing in grace and in the knowledge of the truth as was your
privilege. You have not been increasing in spirituality, but growing
more and more darkened.
Testimonies for the Church 2:485-486
The brother referred to felt a lack in his system; he was not nour-
ished, and he thought that meat would give him the needed strength.