PDF file - Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement

April 22 Apostleship
Setting the Example in Temperance
“A bishop must be . . . not given to wine, . . . just, holy, temperate”
(Titus 1:7, 8).
Ministers of the gospel are engaged in a most solemn work. They
should be encouraged to deny themselves on the point of appetite,
refusing to eat anything that will work an injury to their physical and
mental powers. It is their privilege to have physical strength, which
they may use to the honor of God in carrying forward His work. The
fact that a man preaches the gospel does not give him license to
indulge in selfish practices that will imperil his health. The ministers
should set an example of temperance before the church members.
They should keep their physical and mental powers in the very best
condition, that they may do the greatest amount of good. 43
We have had the light of health reform, and the Lord requires us
to live that light. God will not daily work a miracle to counteract the
unhealthful, selfish doings of man. . . . Our ministers must become
increasingly intelligent in regard to their bodies and how to treat
them. 44
There is a solemn responsibility upon all, especially upon ministers
who teach the truth, to overcome upon the point of appetite.
Their usefulness would be much greater if they had control of their
appetites and passions, and their mental and moral powers would be
stronger if they combined physical labor with mental exertion. With
strictly temperate habits, and with mental and physical labor combined,
they could accomplish a far greater amount of labor and preserve
clearness of mind. If they would pursue such a course, their
thoughts and words would flow more freely, their religious exercises
would be more energized, and the impressions made upon their hearers
would be more marked. 45
The destiny of souls hangs upon the course [ministers] pursue and
the decisions they make. How important then that they should be temperate
in all things, not only in their eating, but in their labor, that their
strength may be unabated and devoted to their sacred calling. 46
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