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Counsels on Diet and Foods
strong upon the race, that, in order to break its hold the divine Son of
God, in man’s behalf, had to endure a fast of nearly six weeks, what
a work is before the Christian! Yet, however great the struggle, he
may overcome. By the help of that divine power which withstood the
fiercest temptations that Satan could invent, he, too, may be entirely
successful in his warfare with evil, and at last may wear the victor’s
crown in the kingdom of God.
By the Power of the Will and the Grace of God
259. Through appetite, Satan controls the mind and the whole
being. Thousands who might have lived, have passed into the grave,
physical, mental, and moral wrecks, because they sacrificed all their
powers to the indulgence of appetite. The necessity for the men of this
generation to call to their aid the power of the will, strengthened by the
grace of God, in order to withstand the temptations of Satan, and resist
the least indulgence of perverted appetite, is far greater than it was
several generations ago. But the present generation have less power
of self-control than had those who lived then.—
Christian Temperance
and Bible Hygiene, 37, 1890
[168]
260. Few have moral stamina to resist temptation, especially of
the appetite, and to practice self-denial. To some it is a temptation
too strong to be resisted to see others eat the third meal; and they
imagine they are hungry, when the feeling is not a call of the stomach
for food, but a desire of the mind that has not been fortified with firm
principle, and disciplined to self-denial. The walls of self-control
and self-restriction should not in a single instance be weakened and
broken down. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, says, “I keep under my
body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have
preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
Those who do not overcome in little things, will have no moral
power to withstand greater temptations.—
Testimonies for the Church
4:574, 1881
261. Carefully consider your diet. Study from cause to effect.
Cultivate self-control. Keep appetite under the control of reason.
Never abuse the stomach by overeating, but do not deprive yourself of
the wholesome, palatable food that health demands.—
The Ministry of
Healing, 323, 1905