God’s people are to learn the meaning of temperance in all things. They are to practice temperance in eating and drinking and dressing. All self-indulgence is to be cut away from their lives. Before they can really understand the meaning of true sanctification and of conformity to the will of Christ, they must, by cooperating with God, obtain the mastery over wrong habits and practices.— Manuscript 16, 1902.
(MM 275.1)
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Keep the work of health reform to the front, is the message I am given to bear. Show so plainly the value of health reform that a widespread need for it will be felt. But never advocate a starvation diet. It is possible to have a wholesome, nutritious diet without using flesh-meat.—Letter 49, 1902.
(MM 275.2)
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By the inspiration of the Spirit of God, Paul the apostle writes that “whatsoever ye do,” even the natural act of eating or drinking, should be done, not to gratify a perverted appetite, but under a sense of responsibility; “do all to the glory of God.”1 Corinthians 10:31. Every part of the man is to be guarded; we are to beware lest that which is taken into the stomach shall banish from the mind high and holy thoughts.
(MM 275.3)
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“May I not do as I please with myself?” ask some, as if we were seeking to deprive them of a great good when we present before them the necessity of eating intelligently and conforming all their habits to the laws God has established. There are rights which belong to every individual. We have an individuality and an identity that is our own. No one can submerge this identity in that of another. All must act for themselves, according to the dictates of their own conscience.
(MM 275.4)
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As regards our responsibility and influence, we are amenable to God as deriving our life from Him. This we do not obtain from humanity, but from God only. We are His by creation and by redemption. Our very bodies are not our own, to treat as we please, to cripple by habits that lead to decay, making it impossible to render to God perfect service. Our lives and all our faculties belong to Him. He is caring for us every moment; He keeps the living machinery in action; if we were left to run it for one moment, we should die. We are absolutely dependent upon God.
(MM 275.5)
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