Practical Hints by D. T. Bourdeau

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 8, 1873

Practical Hints.

By D. T. Bourdeau

WEARING GOLD AND PUTTING ON APPAREL.

WHILE it is a duty that we owe to ourselves, as well as a mark of respect and gratitude to God, in whose image we were formed, to observe taste, order, and cleanliness in our dress and persons, the New Testament expressly enjoins plainness in dress, and forbids wearing gold. 1 Tim. 2: 9; 1 Pet. 3: 3. This is designed to cure us of pride and selfishness. It is strange, yet too true, that the less we have to be proud of, the more are we inclined to manifest selfishness and pride. While the sinfulness of this generation should lead them to humble themselves in dust and ashes, the pride and extravagance in dress and apparel, displayed in this age, are made a subject of prophecy. See Isa. 3: 16, &c. To use the language of the prophet Ezekiel, “pride hath budded.” Eze. 7: 10. Instead of taking extra pains to adorn our persons, we should weep over our sins and think of our Saviour’s seamless coat, and of his crown of thorns. But while it is wrong to wear gold, is it proper to load our persons with other superfluous ornaments to take the place of gold? Can the practice of putting from two to four bone or coral rings on the fingers, wearing rubber bracelets and other useless ornaments, to look pretty, have a good tendency? Is it not calculated to cultivate the very principle that the Bible condemns, and which, if not checked, will eventually lead to go against the letter of the Scriptures?

OUR EXAMPLE ON HEALTH REFORM.

While we should not expect as much from those who have not heard on this subject as we should from those who have, there is danger of our sacrificing our principles on health reform, and retarding the work of reform, by yielding to the practices of the uninformed. Let us avoid undue sternness in useless oddities on the one hand, and slackness and lack of resolution in important points on the other.

RENEW YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS.

It is a good time for those who have subscribed for the REVIEW on trial trip to plan to renew their subscriptions at the close of the six months’ trial, which will bring us to about the first of June. The great amount of valuable reading matter that the REVIEW contains should be a sufficient inducement to subscribe permanently for this excellent paper. Nearly all can afford to pay $2.00 a year for it. Those who are unable to do this, and yet desire still to take the REVIEW, can inform those who have interested themselves for them, and their paper need not be stopped. But planning and economizing in time, and practicing self-denial in things that are either useless or injurious, will generally make it a light task to raise the small sum of two dollars. D. T. BOURDEAU.