Reasonable Service by A. Smith

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 14, 1873

Reasonable Service.

By A. Smith

“I BESEECH YOU therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Rom. 12:1.

Is it not reasonable to suppose, if an opportunity be offered us to become re-instated in the Edenic glory which we have lost by sin, that we will do the utmost in our power to secure the proffered good; that we will pursue that course of action that best harmonizes with Edenic purity?

Knowing, as we do, that perception and volition are largely affected by physical conditions, will we not conform strictly to hygienic principles in the exercise of all our bodily functions? Our bodies may become temples of the Holy Ghost; but no impurity can exist where he abides. Our life and health depend largely upon what we eat and drink. We cannot serve God as well when diseased in body as when in the enjoyment of sound health. Is it not reasonable, therefore, that we should be required to seek, and maintain, our highest moral, mental, and physical well-being.

The food upon which swine are fattened effects the texture of their flesh in a marked degree;—corn-fed pork being hard and firm in texture; shack or mast-fed, oily; and slaughter-fed, soft and flabby, quickly putrefying. A horse fed upon corn will fatten; but, if fed upon oats, he will have more muscular strength. A dog fed from his master’s table, and kindly treated, will be gentle in disposition; but if fed upon raw flesh, he will become fierce and quarrelsome, and more subject to hydrophobia. The boa-constrictor is a dangerous antagonist when hungry; but when fed to repletion, a child might walk up to it with safety, and strike off its head.

Overfeeding stupefies both man and beast. It is the acme of bliss for a hog to gorge himself with filth, and then lie in a slough and grunt. The Esquimaux gorge themselves with walrus blubber, and grow fat, and stupid, activity only returning with a scarcity of provisions.

With the belle, in the interior of Africa, obesity is associated with beauty; and when seeking a matrimonial alliance, she suffers herself to be shut up in a small room, and fed upon dough made from the seeds of a plant indigenous to the country, until she reaches the maximum dimension, and avoirdupois.

Belles of America use rouge to give to their cheeks a glow of apparent health and beauty of which intemperance has deprived them; and they will eat cloves and other spices, to disguise a bad breath, when a proper attention to diet would generally remove the difficulty.

I once heard a lady remark, when a friend complimented her upon her healthful appearance, “I am quite healthy; the flesh of my arms is hard and firm.” Another remarked, “My flesh is soft and flabby; my health is not good.” Doubtless their dietetic habits had something to do with their physical conditions.

Fruits, vegetables, and grains, supply to the human system all the nutriment that it requires. Had man never sinned, no animal would ever have been slaughtered for his use; nor will there ever be in the new earth.

It cannot be that the blessing of God will fail to attend our efforts to return to that which we have lost by sin. All that we can do must be done, on our part, and then God will save us by a miracle of his grace. Was not the blessing of God more manifestly with Daniel in his abstemiousness, than with the quail-eaters in the camp of Israel?

Every exertion, mental, or physical, wrung from the system by stimulants, exhausts a portion of its vitality. Flesh-meats possess this quality in a small degree. Alcohol stimulates the muscles of the system; so also does chocolate, in a small degree. Coffee stimulates the blood, especially that portion of it that nourishes the animal passions; oysters, cloves, &c., have a similar effect. Tea affects the nervous system, and dries the skin. Tobacco is filthy, and prolific of disease. The use of tea, coffee, tobacco, and most of the condiments now in use, were unknown to the ancients.

Lycurgus, the Spartan lawgiver, to guard against private excess, ordained that all meals should be eaten in public. Their food consisted of black broth or soup, coarse bread, cheese, and figs. No flesh was eaten at their entertainments, and no rude or immoral conversation allowed; but sallies of wit were permitted. Upon the Roman athlete, strict temperance was enjoined. He was required to eat that which he did not like, to abstain from all delicacies, observe regularity in diet and exercise, use no wine, and restrain the animal passions. After entering the list, he might not only fail to win the prize, but might receive bodily injury and insult. Those who won the game, received a crown of laurel, pine, or parsley, which quickly withered away.

Pugilists and circus actors of the present day go through a similar course of training. They do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.—PAUL. Fullness of bread was a sin of Sodom; and gluttony in the days of Noah, finds a counterpart in the excess that abounds in the days of the coming of the Son of man. Is it not our duty fully to escape the corruptions that are in the world through lust, and so cleanse our bodies that we may present them to God, an acceptable and living sacrifice? It is our reasonable service. A. SMITH.