Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene - Ellen G. White

larger portion are given to dress, and the culture of
mind and heart is neglected. Even among those
who profess to love and keep the commandments
of God, there are some who ape this class as nearly
as they possibly can and retain the name of
Christian. Some of the young are so eager for
display that they are willing to give up even the
Christian name if they can only indulge their vanity
in dress.
On Sunday many of the popular churches
appear more like a theater than like a place for the
worship of God. Every style of fashionable dress is
displayed there. Many of the poor have not courage
to enter such houses of worship. Their plain dress,
though it may be neat, is in marked contrast with
that of their more wealthy sisters, and this
difference causes them to feel embarrassed. Some
try to appear like the wealthy by trimming goods of
an inferior quality in imitation of more costly
apparel. Poor girls, receiving but small wages,
often spend their last cent in order to dress like
those who are not obliged to earn their own living.
In consequence, they have nothing laid by for
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