Control of Appetite
115
turning from the tempting, coveted dish. He thought upon it, making
no special effort to restrain his appetite, until the power of appetite bore
down every other consideration, and controlled him, and he imagined
that he would suffer great inconvenience, and even death, if he could
not have that particular dish. The more he thought upon it, the more
his desire strengthened, until his birthright, which was sacred, lost its
value and its sacredness.—
Testimonies for the Church 2:38, 1868
Israel’s Lust for Flesh
233. When the God of Israel brought His people out of Egypt,
He withheld flesh meats from them in a great measure, but gave them
bread from heaven, and water from the flinty rock. With this they
were not satisfied. They loathed the food given them, and wished
themselves back in Egypt, where they could sit by the fleshpots. They
preferred to endure slavery, and even death, rather than to be deprived
of flesh. God granted their desire, giving them flesh, and leaving them
to eat till their gluttony produced a plague, from which many of them
died.—[
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 43, 44
]
Counsels
on Health, 111, 112, 1890
[149]
All These are Ensamples
Example after example might be cited to show the effects of yield-
ing to appetite. It seemed a small matter to our first parents to transgress
the command of God in that one act,—the eating from a tree that was
so beautiful to the sight and so pleasant to the taste,—but it broke their
allegiance to God, and opened the gates to a flood of guilt and woe
that has deluged the world.
The World Today
Crime and disease have increased with every succeeding genera-
tion. Intemperance in eating and drinking, and the indulgence of the
baser passions, have benumbed the nobler faculties of man. Reason,
instead of being the ruler, has come to be the slave of appetite to an
alarming extent. An increasing desire for rich food has been indulged,
until it has become the fashion to crowd all the delicacies possible into
the stomach. Especially at parties of pleasure is the appetite indulged
with but little restraint. Rich dinners and late suppers are served, con-