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Public-Health Problem
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drunkard, and give him no equivalent for his money. Instead of this,
they give him that which maddens him, which makes him act the
fool, and turns him into a demon of evil and cruelty....
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But angels of God have witnessed every step in the downward
path, and have traced every consequence that resulted from a man’s
placing the bottle to his neighbor’s lips. The liquor dealer is written
in the records among those whose hands are full of blood. He is
condemned for keeping on hand the poisonous draft by which his
neighbor is tempted to ruin, and by which homes are filled with
wretchedness and degradation. The Lord holds the liquor dealer
responsible for every penny that comes to his till out of the earnings
of the poor drunkard, who has lost all moral power, who has sunk
his manhood in drink.—
The Review and Herald, May 8, 1894
.
He Must Answer to God
—No matter what may be the wealth,
power, or position of a man in the sight of the world, no matter
whether or not he has been permitted by the law of the land to sell
poisonous drinks to his neighbor, he will be held accountable in the
sight of heaven for degrading the soul that has been redeemed by
Christ, and will be arraigned before the judgment for lowering a
character that ought to have reflected the image of God, to reflect
the image of that which is below the brute creation.
In enticing men to educate themselves in the liquor habit, the
rum seller is effectually taking away the righteousness of the soul,
and leading men to become the abject slaves of Satan. The Lord
Jesus, the Prince of Life, is in controversy with Satan, the prince of
darkness. Christ declares that His mission is to lift men up....
Jesus left the royal courts of heaven, and laid aside His own
glory, and clothed His divinity with humanity, that He might come
into close connection with humanity, and by precept and example
uplift and ennoble humanity, and restore in the human soul the lost
image of God. This is the work of Christ; but what is the influence of
those who legalize the liquor traffic? What is the influence of those
who put the bottle to their neighbor’s lips? Contrast the work of the
rum seller with the work of Jesus Christ, and you will be forced to
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admit that those who deal in liquor, and those who sustain the traffic,
are working in co-partnership with Satan. Through this business
they are doing a greater work to perpetuate human woe than are men
through any other business in the world....