Counsels on Health - Ellen G. White

will sacrifice not only health and life, but their
hope of heaven, before they will wage war against
their own perverted appetites. One lady, who for
many years claimed to be sanctified, made the
statement that if she must give up her pipe or
heaven she would say, “Farewell, heaven; I cannot
overcome my love for my pipe.” This idol had
been enshrined in the soul, leaving to Jesus a
subordinate place. Yet this woman claimed to be
wholly the Lord’s!
Wherever they may be, those who are truly
sanctified will elevate the moral standard by
preserving correct physical habits, and, like Daniel,
presenting to others an example of temperance and
self-denial. Every depraved appetite becomes a
warring lust. Everything that conflicts with natural
law creates a diseased condition of the soul. The
indulgence of appetite produces a dyspeptic
stomach, a torpid liver, a clouded brain, and thus
perverts the temper and the spirit of the man. And
these enfeebled powers are offered to God, who
refused to accept the victims for sacrifice unless
they were without a blemish. It is our duty to bring
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