Temperance by James W. Gardner

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Aug 12, 1880

Temperance.

By James W. Gardner

OAKLAND H. AND T. CLUB.

According to appointment, a meeting of this club was held in the S. D. A. church, on Sunday evening, July 25, 1880. It having been announced that Mrs. E. G. White would speak, the house was well filled, many strangers being present.

Meeting opened by singing the song entitled “Work.” Prayer by Eld. S. N. Haskell. Secretary’s report was followed by a song from the new temperance song book, entitled, “Sleeping on Guard.” Report of solicitors called for, at which time Eld. Haskell, by request, made some pertinent remarks regarding the necessity of constant work being done both by solicitors and other members, and by way of encouragement to do this referred to some remarkable results which had attended such efforts in other fields.

These remarks were followed by others to the point by the president, after which he introduced Mrs. E. G. White, who spoke to us in a manner calculated to arouse all to an appreciation of the subject of temperance in its broadest sense.

As usual, she introduced the subject of temperance from a Christian standpoint, reading from Daniel 1, and thereby showing how God had richly blessed Daniel and his companions for abstaining from the use of wine and other injurious things. How besides being ten times better in all matters of wisdom and understanding (Dan. 1:20) than their fellows, “they were fairer and fatter in flesh” than they all.

By indulging in that which is wrong we form habit, and habit becomes a law of nature. This law of nature demands that we have constantly that by which this law was created, and even this will not satisfy in the same quantity from day to day; a constant increase is demanded, thus leading on and on, until physical, mental, and moral powers are debased, and true, God-given manhood subverted and lost. We see the terrible results of Adam’s indulgence of appetite, which has entailed such misery and suffering on the whole human race; it was this excessive eating and drinking, which existed at the time of the deluge, that sunk the world which then was into oblivion, and it is foretold in Scripture that as it was in the time of Noah, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man—eating, drinking, etc., or indulging in a wrongful manner perverted appetite. Satan first assailed the race on the point of appetite, and so occasioned their fall; and now as he sees the end of his sway approaching, he is putting forth the most powerful efforts and assails our appetites in every conceivable manner, in hope of dragging us to perdition.

Liquor is by no means the only thing from which to abstain, tobacco is nearly as bad—worse in some respects. Every Christian should take Christ as a pattern and follow him, and can we imagine Christ with a pipe or a quid of tobacco in his mouth? Stop a moment and think of it!—our lovely Saviour, from whose pure lips proceeded those words of love and comfort, using tobacco! No, we shrink from the thought. Let us then follow in his footsteps and fling away the vile weed. The use of tobacco leads to the use of liquor; and spices, tea, and coffee to tobacco. Little by little the appetite is increased, growing stronger and stronger, until it is beyond control. If tobacco is necessary to man, why is it not to woman? If it gives him comfort and innocent diversion, will it not her? Where is the distinction?

Christ, the representative of the human race, left the royal throne and came to earth, and here commenced to reclaim the race by being subjected to the test of appetite, just where Adam fell. For forty long days and nights he resisted temptation and abstained from food. Pale and emaciated he came from the single-handed contest a victor. Either Satan or Christ has the control of appetite, and if Christ has this control, he will supply grace and strength sufficient to give us the victory.

The mother should teach the child in its tender years to overcome appetite, so that when older it may have the moral power to resist temptation. Parents transmit the depraved appetite and vitiated blood in an exaggerated degree to their offspring. Shall parents have to look on the premature graves of their little ones, who have inherited of them weak physical and moral powers, and say, “We have killed them”? or may the children look on their parents’ graves and say, “They saved us”?

Many give too much of their time to dress, which ought to be given to their children. How are we to save the youth of to-day? It is to point them to Jesus. Never did we see the value of old-fashioned mothers as to-day—mothers who will bring up their children in the fear of the Lord, and with moral strength sufficient to control appetite. God gave the youth in Daniel’s time strength to overcome, and blessed them in the effort. He will do the same to-day. God has bought us with the price of blood. Christ battled forty days and nights alone with appetite, and after a life of sorrow and pain suffered an agonizing death on the cross for us. Will we do nothing for ourselves?

Here is the time and place to remove all defilements of character. When we leave this world, we take with us the characters we have here formed. Professed Christians, if you would save the money you spend in tobacco and that which is harmful and place it in the church treasury, you would not be obliged to get up church fairs and festivals, and thereby appeal to the appetite, in order to get money to keep up your churches. Now throw yourself unreservedly on Jesus, and he who has died for you will give you strength sufficient unto victory. Those who have striven the hardest for mastery will be those nearest the throne, where they may, after the strife of life is done, and the crown of victory won, swell the joyous song which will resound throughout eternity.

After closing her lecture, Mrs. White appealed to all who had not already done so to sign the pledge. After singing, the pledges were circulated, Eld. Haskell speaking in the meantime on the subject before us. Another song was then sung, and the audience dismissed with benediction, a deep feeling being observed on those present and much interest manifested. May God bless the efforts of our club to the salvation of many souls in the kingdom of Heaven.

JAMES W. GARDNER, Secretary.