Both tobacco and liquor break down nerve force, and dull the finer 
perceptions, so that the slaves to these habits cannot discern between 
sacred and common things. An example of the demoralizing effect of 
intoxicants is seen in the case of Nadab and Abihu. They ventured to partake 
of wine before they entered the tabernacle to perform the duties of their 
sacred office, and the result was, they could not distinguish between common 
fire and that which was consecrated to the holy service. For this breach of 
trust they were slain. Some will say, "If they were intoxicated, and could 
not discern the difference
                                                                             
19
between these fires, why should they be punished?" When they placed the cup 
to their lips, they made themselves responsible for all their deeds 
committed while under its influence. {CTBH 18.2}
     How is it with our law makers, and the men in our courts of justice? If 
it was necessary that those who ministered in holy office should have clear 
minds and full control of their reason, is it not also important that those 
who make and execute the laws of our great nation should have their 
faculties unclouded? What about the judges and jurors, in whose hands rests 
the disposing of human life, and whose decisions may condemn the innocent, 
or turn the criminal loose upon society? Do they not need to have full 
control of their mental powers? Are they temperate in their habits? If not, 
they are not fit for such responsible positions. When the appetites are 
perverted, the mental powers are weakened, and there is danger that men will 
not rule justly. Is indulgence in that which beclouds the mind less 
dangerous today than when God placed restrictions upon those who ministered 
in holy office? {CTBH 19.1}

     Christ fought the battle upon the point of appetite, and came off 
victorious; and we also can conquer through strength derived from him. Who 
will enter in through the gates into the city?--Not those who declare that 
they cannot break the force of appetite. Christ has resisted the power of 
him who would hold us in bondage; though weakened by his long fast of forty 
days, he withstood temptation, and proved by this act that our cases are not 
hopeless. I know that we cannot obtain the victory alone; and how thankful 
we should be that we have a living Saviour, who is ready and willing to aid 
us! {CTBH 19.2}

     I recall the case of a man in a congregation that I was once 
addressing. He was almost wrecked in body and mind by the use of liquor and 
tobacco. He was bowed down from the effects of dissipation; and his dress 
was in keeping with his shattered condition. To all appearance he had gone 
too far to be reclaimed. But as I
                                                                             
20
appealed to him to resist temptation in the strength of a risen Saviour, he 
rose tremblingly, and said, "You have an interest for me, and I will have an 
interest for myself." Six months afterward he came to my house. I did not 
recognize him. With a countenance beaming with joy, and eyes overflowing 
with tears, he grasped my hand, and said, "You do not know me, but you 
remember the man in an old blue coat who rose in your congregation, and said 
that he would try to reform?" I was astonished. He stood erect, and looked 
ten years younger. He had gone home from that meeting, and passed the long 
hours in prayer and struggle till the sun arose. It was a night of conflict, 
but, thank God, he came off a victor. This man could tell by sad experience 
of the bondage of these evil habits. He knew how to warn the youth of the 
dangers of contamination; and those who, like himself, had been overcome, he 
could point to Christ as the only source of help. {CTBH 19.3}

     In my travels I have witnessed scenes of feasting and revelry; and as I 
have marked the effects of unrestrained indulgence, as I have listened to 
the blasphemous mirth, and seen the indifference and even contempt for all 
things sacred, I have thought of the sacrilegious feast of Belshazzar, to 
which were invited a thousand of his lords, his princes, his wives, and his 
concubines,--that feast where wine was freely drunk from the sacred vessels 
of the temple of God, while the revelers sang the praises of their gods of 
silver and gold. They knew not that an unseen Watcher heard every word of 
blasphemy, beheld every impious action. {CTBH 20.1}

     In the midst of the revelry, Belshazzar saw the bloodless hand of an 
uninvited guest tracing upon the wall of the palace words that gleamed like 
fire,--words which, though unknown to that vast throng, were a portent of 
doom to the new conscience-stricken revelers. The boisterous mirth was 
hushed, and they shook with a nameless terror as their eyes fastened upon 
the wall. Where but a few moments before had been hilarity and blasphemous
                                                                             
21
witticism, were pallid faces and cries of fear. A wild cry from the frantic 
king rang out in the assembly, calling for some one to come and read the 
writing. The wise men were called in, but those mystic characters were as 
strange to them as to the others. {CTBH 20.2}

     Then the queen-mother remembered Daniel, who, so many years before, had 
made known to king Nebuchadnezzar his forgotten dream and its 
interpretation. Standing before that gorgeous, terror-stricken throng, the 
prophet of God reminded the king of Nebuchadnezzar's sin and fall, and 
reproved him for his own crimes. Then turning to the writing on the wall, he 
read the message from Heaven. The hand was gone, but four terrible words 
were left. With bated breath the people waited as Daniel announced their 
meaning: "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin:" "God hath numbered thy kingdom, and 
finished it;" "thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting;" 
"thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." [DAN. 
5:25-28.] {CTBH 21.1}

     Just as surely as there was a Witness at the feast of Belshazzar, there 
is also a Witness in every scene of sacrilegious mirth, and just as surely 
is the recording angel writing, "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art 
found wanting." {CTBH 21.2}

     Intemperance is on the increase, in spite of the efforts made to 
control it. We cannot be too earnest in seeking to hinder its progress, to 
raise the fallen, and shield the weak from temptation. With our feeble human 
hands we can do but little, but we have an unfailing Helper. We must not 
forget that the arm of Christ can reach to the very depths of human woe and 
degradation. He can give us help to conquer even this terrible demon of 
intemperance. {CTBH 21.3}

     But it is in the home that the real work must begin. The greatest 
burden rests upon those who have the responsibility of educating the youth, 
of forming their character. Here is a work for mothers, in helping their 
children to form correct habits and pure tastes, to develop
                                                                             
22
moral stamina, true moral worth. Teach them that they are not to be swayed 
by others, that they are not to yield to wrong influences, but to influence 
others for good, to ennoble and elevate those with whom they associate. 
Teach them that if they connect themselves with God, they will have strength 
from him to resist the fiercest temptations. {CTBH 21.4}

     In the Babylonian court, Daniel was surrounded by allurements to sin, 
but by the help of Christ he maintained his integrity. He who cannot resist 
temptation, with every facility which has been placed within his reach, is 
not registered in the books of heaven as a man. The Lord never places men in 
positions so trying that it is beyond their power to withstand evil. Divine 
power is ever ready to protect and strengthen him who has been made a 
partaker of the divine nature. {CTBH 22.1}

     Temptations to the indulgence of appetite possess a power which can be 
overcome only by the help that God can impart. But with every temptation we 
have the promise of God that there shall be a way of escape. Why, then, are 
so many overcome? It is because they do not put their trust in God. They do 
not avail themselves of the means provided for their safety. The excuses 
offered for the gratification of perverted appetite, are therefore of no 
weight with God. {CTBH 22.2}

     Daniel valued his human capabilities, but he did not trust in them. His 
trust was in that strength which God has promised to all who will come to 
him in humble dependence, relying wholly upon his power. {CTBH 22.3}

     He purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the 
portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank; for he knew 
that such a diet would not strengthen his physical powers or increase his 
mental capability. He would not use wine, nor any other unnatural stimulant; 
he would do nothing to becloud his mind; and God gave him "knowledge and 
skill in all learning and wisdom," and also "understanding in all visions 
and dreams." [DAN. 1:17.]
                                                                             
23
{CTBH 22.4}

     In later years the cares of state were heavy upon him, he was taxed to 
the utmost of his capacity; but he grew strong in the conflict with 
difficulties. He held fast by the hand of Infinite Strength, and would not 
be overcome. He knew that in order to do his work well, he must have help 
from God. He realized that amid his trials and persecutions he could not 
walk apart from God one hour. He prayed three times a day, and God answered 
his prayers. Daniel's purpose was known to the heavenly Watcher, and as 
Daniel placed himself on the side of God, to keep his ways, the Lord placed 
himself on Daniel's side, to keep him. {CTBH 23.1}

     Daniel's parents had trained him in his childhood to habits of strict 
temperance. They had taught him that he must conform to nature's laws in all 
his habits; that his eating and drinking had a direct influence upon his 
physical, mental, and moral nature, and that he was accountable to God for 
his capabilities; for he held them all as a gift from God, and must not, by 
any course of action, dwarf or cripple them. As the result of this teaching, 
the law of God was exalted in his mind, and reverenced in his heart. During 
the early years of his captivity, Daniel was passing through an ordeal which 
was to familiarize him with courtly grandeur, with hypocrisy, and with 
paganism. A strange school indeed to fit him for a life of sobriety, 
industry, and faithfulness! And yet he lived uncorrupted by the atmosphere 
of evil with which he was surrounded. {CTBH 23.2}

     The experience of Daniel and his youthful companions illustrates the 
benefits that may result from an abstemious diet, and shows what God will do 
for those who will cooperate with him in the purifying and uplifting of the 
soul. They were an honor to God, and a bright and shining light in the court 
of Babylon. {CTBH 23.3}

     In this history we hear the voice of God addressing us individually, 
bidding us gather up all the precious rays of light upon this subject of 
Christian temperance, and place ourselves in right relation to the laws of 
health.
                                                                             
24
{CTBH 23.4}

     We want a share in the eternal inheritance. We want a place in the city 
of God, free from every impurity. All heaven is watching to see how we are 
fighting the battle against temptation. Let all who profess the name of 
Christ so walk before the world that they may teach by example as well as 
precept the principles of true living. "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." {CTBH 24.1}