Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene - Ellen G. White

shall leave the shelter of home for the world.
Do we build our houses for the happiness of the
family, or merely for display? Do we provide
pleasant, sunny rooms for our children, or do we
keep them darkened and closed, reserving them for
strangers who are not dependent on us for
happiness? There is no nobler work that we can do,
no greater benefit that we can confer upon society,
than to give to our children a proper education
impressing upon them, by precept and example, the
important principle that purity of life and sincerity
of purpose will best qualify them to act their part in
the world.
Our artificial habits deprive us of many
privileges and much enjoyment, and unfit us for
usefulness. A fashionable life is a hard, thankless
life. How often time, money, and health are
sacrificed, the patience sorely tried, and selfcontrol
lost, merely for the sake of display. If
parents would cling to simplicity, not indulging in
expense for the gratification of vanity, and to
follow fashion; if they would maintain a noble
118