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190
Temperance
that his eating and drinking had a direct influence upon his physical,
mental, and moral nature, and that he was accountable to God for his
capabilities; for he held them all as a gift from God, and must not,
by any course of action, dwarf or cripple them. As the result of this
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teaching, the law of God was exalted in his mind, and reverenced
in his heart. During the early years of his captivity, Daniel was
passing through an ordeal which was to familiarize him with courtly
grandeur, with hypocrisy, and with paganism. A strange school
indeed to fit him for a life of sobriety, industry, and faithfulness!
And yet he lived uncorrupted by the atmosphere of evil with which
he was surrounded.
The experience of Daniel and his youthful companions illustrates
the benefits that may result from an abstemious diet, and shows what
God will do for those who will co-operate with Him in the purifying
and uplifting of the soul. They were an honor to God, and a bright
and shining light in the court of Babylon.
God’s Call to Us
—In this history we hear the voice of God
addressing us individually, bidding us gather up all the precious
rays of light upon this subject of Christian temperance, and place
ourselves in right relation to the laws of health.
We want a share in the eternal inheritance. We want a place in
the city of God, free from every impurity. All heaven is watching to
see how we are fighting the battle against temptation. Let all who
profess the name of Christ so walk before the world that they may
teach by example as well as precept the principles of true living.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service.”—
Christian Temperance and Bible
Hygiene, 23, 24
.
Students to Take Care
—The character of the food and the man-
ner in which it is eaten exert a powerful influence on the health.
Many students have never made a determined effort to control the
appetite, or to observe proper rules in regard to eating. Some eat
too much at their meals, and some eat between meals whenever the
temptation is presented.
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The need of carefulness in habits of diet should be impressed on
the minds of all students. I have been instructed that those attending
our schools are not to be served with flesh foods or with preparations