Basic HTML Version
Chapter 5—The Sense of Moral Obligation
Guided by Moral and Religious Principle
—We are to act
from a moral and religious standpoint. We are to be temperate
in all things, because an incorruptible crown, a heavenly treasure, is
before us.—
Testimonies for the Church 2:374
.
As Christ’s followers, we should, in eating and drinking, act
from principle.—
Redemption; or the Temptation of Christ, 60
.
The case of Daniel shows us, that, through religious principle,
young men may triumph over the lust of the flesh and remain true
to God’s requirements, even though it cost them a great sacrifice.—
Testimonies for the Church 4:570
.
No Moral Right to Do as You Please
—Have I not a right to
do as I please with my own body?—No, you have no moral right,
because you are violating the laws of life and health which God has
given you. You are the Lord’s property, His by creation and His by
redemption. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” The law of
self-respect and for the property of the Lord is here brought to view.
And this will lead to respect for the obligations which every human
being is under to preserve the living machinery that is so fearfully
and wonderfully made.—
Manuscript 49, 1897
.
To Sense the Sacredness of Natural Law
—Every law govern-
ing the human system is to be strictly regarded; for it is as truly a law
of God as is the word of Holy Writ; and every willful deviation from
obedience to this law is as certainly sin as a violation of the moral
[214]
law. All nature expresses the law of God, but in our physical struc-
ture Jehovah has written His law with His own finger upon every
thrilling nerve, upon every living fiber, and upon every organ of the
body. We shall suffer loss and defeat, if we step out of nature’s path,
which God Himself has marked out, into one of our own devising.
We must strive lawfully, if we would win the boon of eternal life.
The path is wide enough, and all who run the race may win the prize.
If we create unnatural appetites, and indulge them in any degree,
we violate nature’s laws, and enfeebled physical, mental, and moral
212