Читать книгу The Sacred Scriptures - 29th Special Edition (Part 1/4) - Johannes Biermanski - Страница 20

~ Ephesians 5:18; Titus 2:3; Proverbs 9:4-6; 20:1; 23:20, 29-35 ~

No human hand has ever designed an accurate picture of slaveryand humiliation of the victims of intoxicating beverages. Subjugated, humiliated, they awake in a feeling of misery, they are powerless to get out of these tights; they will 'require the same again and again.'

No proof is necessary to show the severe impact of intoxication on the drinker. The befuddled, bewitched, human wrecks - souls for whom Christ died and angels cry about - are everywhere. They are the shame, the curse and the bane of the country.

Who can imagine the misery, the agony, the despair hidden in drunkards’ homes? Just think of women, often well-educated, sensitive, built-up and accustomed to a more refined way of life, who are allied with men who turned into drunkards or a demons due to drinking...

Intoxication is generated by wine, beer and cider to the same extent as by stronger drinks. The enjoyment of these beverages gives taste for stronger ones, thus resulting in drunkenness. Moderate drinking is the school where men are educated for the career of a drunkard. But the influence of these mild stimulants is so insidious that the path to drunkenness is entered before the victim even suspects any danger ...

In the Old Testament Christ gave the warning to the people of Israel: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” (Proverbs 20:1) ... Tea, coffee and similar beverages, tend in the same direction as alcohol, spirits and tobacco and in some cases, it is equally hard to break the habit, as it is for the drinkers to give up consuming intoxicating beverages. Those who try to give up these irritants will miss them for some time and suffer without them. But they will overcome the desire by their power of endurance no longer feeling a lack thereof. Nature may require some time to recover from the suffered injury, but you should give her a chance, and it will rise again and do its work well and willingly.

from “The Ministry of Healing” by EG White, 1907, p. 334-339, 342