Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene - Ellen G. White

their own character after the divine Pattern; and
who have thus been unprepared to fulfill the sacred
trust committed to them,—to bring up their
children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
It is almost impossible to arouse those who
need to be awakened, to any just sense of the
power which Satan has over the mind. Neither are
they aware of the corruption teeming all around
them. Satan has blinded them, and lulled them to
carnal security. Iniquity abounds, and it is not
confined merely to the unbeliever and the scoffer:
many who profess the religion of Christ are also
guilty. Their love is waxing cold. Alas! how few
there are, even among professed Christians, who do
the right for its own sake,—who will shun evil
when public opinion does not restrain them!
In the battle with inward corruption and
outward temptation, even the wise and powerful
Solomon was vanquished. His life began under
favorable auspices. He was beloved of God; and,
had virtue been preserved, his life might have
closed in prosperity and honor. But he surrendered
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