Some time ago, while in consultation with a doctor not of our faith over a patient who was hopelessly ill, I asked the other physician if the patient was a vegetarian. Without replying directly to my question, this doctor remarked that such and such a minister (naming one of our workers) was not enjoying very good health, and that our health measures were not very productive of good results in that worker's life. This brief conversation has caused me to give considerable thought to the fact that many Seventh-day Adventists, and especially our workers, suffer from high blood pressure, heart disease, malignant growths, and premature physical breakdowns just about as much as do people who make no pretense of following health principles.
There must be a fundamental reason for this. Surely we are not putting into practice the truths we possess, or perhaps while carrying out some of them we are neglecting others equally important. The Lord says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6. Note that He says "My people." This does not mean the heathen or the unbelievers, but those who profess to be following God. There is thus a possibility of God's people following part of His message, but being destroyed because they do not obey it all—perhaps because of lack of knowledge.
The Lord cannot bless wrong acts or false principles, even though they be carried out by His own people, and in an apparently good cause. As the ark was being brought back to David and the people, one of the drivers dared to touch the ark because it lurched as the oxen stumbled. This disobedience, even though in a seemingly good cause, resulted in instant death. Satan, when tempting Christ, suggested that Jesus throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, stating that God had promised that His angels would lift Him up. But Christ, incarnate in human form, refused to endanger His life by putting Himself in the position of breaking one of God's laws.
Is it not significant that of the diseases which cause death, heart disease heads the list? And be it observed that heart disease is frequently, if not always, associated with hypertension. What is it, then, that causes so much heart trouble, with its accompanying high blood pressure? Perhaps next to dietetic errors, it is the mad pace, the hurry and worry, the anxiety and tension, under which this generation is living. And this is not confined to those outside our work, but unfortunately it applies also to our own burden bearers, and especially to the workers carrying increasingly heavy responsibilities —those who, when the hour of quitting time comes, cannot lay down their tools, but whose minds must continually strive with their problems until the small hours of the night. And usually when Sabbath comes, which should bring needed rest, to them it means only a busier and more strenuous program than ever. All this is done in the interest of God's work; but so was the steadying of the ark. The taut spring needs to be periodically relaxed, or it will snap.
We must somehow be temperate in all things, remembering that we are not indispensable to the work, and that God can complete it without our help. We must "be still, and know" that God is above all and in all. We must occasionally come apart awhile and rest, that we may more clearly and perfectly represent Him in our minds and bodies. There never has been a time when we should be more careful to follow out our principles of health reform than today. Disease and infection are everywhere present in the animal world. On the other hand, never was it easier to follow a wholesome, balanced vegetarian diet than it is today, with our wonderful markets providing such a variety of fruits and vegetables, even in winter. We must also secure adequate and periodic rest, not attempting to do the year's resting in a two weeks' vacation. God desires that we as workers shall prosper and be in health. And the world has a right to expect much of the last-day exponents of true and full reform.
