'Only one lease of life is granted us; and the inquiry with every one should be, “How can I invest my powers so that they may yield the greatest profit? How can I do most for the glory of God and the benefit of my fellow men?” For life is valuable only as it is used for the attainment of these ends.'
It is important that our young people understand that being healthy like Daniel isn't just so that you can be free from disease; there is an extra motivation that we are to have when following the principles of health reform, and that is so that we can glorify God. The glory of God is His character, and whatever we do to our bodies affects the mind: either our habits weakens and beclouds it, or they strengthen and make it clear to hear and obey the Lord's voice. In turn, when we make healthy choices, which give us health and empower us to be like Jesus, we become a blessing to our fellow man. Wouldn't it be a blessing to have a friend who was always revealing the character of Jesus in how they deal with you? Well, we want our children to be that friend, that student and that work colleague to others. This is what makes life valuable; this brings true happiness!
'Our first duty toward God and our fellow beings is that of self-development. Every faculty with which the Creator has endowed us should be cultivated to the highest degree of perfection, that we may be able to do the greatest amount of good of which we are capable. Hence that time is spent to good account which is used in the establishment and preservation of physical and mental health. We cannot afford to dwarf or cripple any function of body or mind. As surely as we do this, we must suffer the consequences.'
Teach your children that their mental, physical, and spiritual faculties are to be improved on daily. Discourage them from mediocrity, and just being good. Today I told my daughter that good is the enemy of great, for when you settle for good, it will hinder you from being great in Christ Jesus. We were created to 'perfect holiness in the fear of God' (see 2 Corinthians 7:1), and holiness hinges upon the physical and mental powers too. For example, if I am eating food which will harm my body, it will affect my ability to choose holiness in the midst of temptation. If I am leaving my mental powers dormant, and not shun deep and complex matters of thought, then my mind will not be sharpened enough to choose the right when severely tested. So perfecting holiness, and perfecting all my faculties, are one and the same thing.
'Every man has the opportunity, to a great extent, of making
himself whatever he chooses to be. The blessings of this life, and also
of the immortal state, are within his reach. He may build up a character
of solid worth, gaining new strength at every step. He may advance
daily in knowledge and wisdom, conscious of new delights as he
progresses, adding virtue to virtue, grace to grace. His faculties will
improve by use; the more wisdom he gains, the greater will be his
capacity for acquiring. His intelligence, knowledge, and virtue will
thus develop into greater strength and more perfect symmetry.'
{Counsels on Diet and Foods, 15}
It is a law of the mind that what at first seems hard to grasp, will, by habitual effort, become easy, even second nature. For example, because my daughter started memorizing Scripture from infancy, now it is easy for her to cement a verse in her mind within a couple of minutes. Also her capacity to acquire larger amounts in a short time has increased, so where before she would memorize one verse a day, now she can take half a chapter a day.
Summary of today's reading:
Ecc 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.
No comments:
Post a Comment