332
Counsels on Diet and Foods
very sinful, and truth is not regarded of greater value than earthly
treasure.—
Spiritual Gifts 4a:128, 129, 1864
741. Tea and coffee drinking is a sin, an injurious indulgence,
which, like other evils, injures the soul. These darling idols create
an excitement, a morbid action of the nervous system; and after the
immediate influence of the stimulants is gone, it lets down below
par just to that degree that its stimulating properties elevated above
par.—
Letter 44, 1896
742. Those who use tobacco, tea, and coffee should lay aside
those idols, and put their cost into the treasury of the Lord. Some
have never made a sacrifice for the cause of God, and are asleep as
to what God requires of them. Some of the very poorest will have
the greatest struggle to deny themselves of these stimulants. This
individual sacrifice is not required because the cause of God is suffering
[426]
for means. But every heart will be tested, every character developed.
It is principle that God’s people must act upon. The living principle
must be carried out in the life.—
Testimonies for the Church 1:222,
1861
Cravings Interfere With Spiritual Worship
743. Tea and coffee, as well as tobacco, have an injurious effect
upon the system. Tea is intoxicating; though less in degree, its effect is
the same in character as that of spirituous liquors. Coffee has a greater
tendency to becloud the intellect and benumb the energies. It is not
so powerful as tobacco, but is similar in its effects. The arguments
brought against tobacco may also be urged against the use of tea and
coffee.
Those who are in the habit of using tea, coffee, tobacco, opium,
or spirituous liquors, cannot worship God when they are deprived
of the accustomed indulgence. Let them, while deprived of these
stimulants, engage in the worship of God, and divine grace would
be powerless to animate, enliven, or spiritualize their prayers or their
testimonies. These professed Christians should consider the means of
their enjoyment. Is it from above, or from beneath?—
The Review and
Herald, January 25, 1881