BE YE CLEAN by H. E. Sawyer

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 10, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 35.

BE YE CLEAN.

By H. E. Sawyer

BY H. E. SAWYER.

MANY in this enlightened age seem to be content to breathe air over and over again, little realizing that this carbonic-acid gas which they are constantly inhaling is a slow poison and one great cause of sickness and death.

The pure atmospheric air is one of heaven’s precious life-giving boons. It is a free gift and one within the reach of all, both the rich and the poor. To maintain health we must have that which will impart life; then open the windows and let in the life-giving element; up with the curtains, that the light may gain an entrance. Both were given by a kind Benefactor, to be a blessing to all mankind, and, instead of treating them as deadly foes, we should bid them a glad welcome into our homes.

We are told that the surface of the skin has a million little mouths, through which it should breathe, but how can it breathe when these mouths are clogged through the impurities of the system, because of the neglect to have a free circulation of air daily. Cold air from an adjoining room, or a hall that is closed, is dead air; and heated air which comes from a stove is low in vitality and weakens the lungs. To open a window on one side of the room is not sufficient. There should be an opening on the opposite side, that the impure air may be driven out. From the pen of a well-known writer we glean the following:—

The air we breathe is of more importance than the food we eat. To deprive the lungs of air is like depriving the stomach of food. Air is the food that God has provided for the lungs. Welcome it, cultivate a love for it.

Pure air and water, cleanliness and a proper diet, purity of life, and a firm trust in God, are remedies for the want of which thousands are dying. Yet these remedies are going out of date, because their skilled use requires work that people do not appreciate. Fresh air, exercise, pure water, and clean, sweet premises, are within the reach of all with but little expense.

Professor Kedzir once said: “If the housewife washes her hands in water, she does not say, ‘The water does not look dirty and I can use it again.’ No, the water was used to remove dirt, and she throws it away. Shall she wash her hands five or six times a day with clear water and wash her lungs twenty-eight thousand times a day with dirty air?”

Said a voice from heaven to ancient Israel, “Be ye clean.” Does not that voice speak the same to the Israel of to-day?

Oakland, Cal.