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Pastor Bill Farrow

Daniel 1:16

[16] Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

(Verse 16) - It is worth taking a moment or two to think about the outcome of this wonderful experiment:

(a) It was complete and satisfactory. "More" was accomplished in the matter of the trial by abstinence than by indulgence. Those who abstained were more healthful, more beautiful, more vigorous than the others. And there was nothing miraculous - nothing that occurred in that case which does not occur in similar cases. One writer noted, respecting those whom he had seen in the East, "that the countenances of the kechicks (monks) are in fact more rosy and smooth than those of others; and that those who fast much, I mean the Armenians and the Greeks, are, notwithstanding, very beautiful, sparkling with health, with a clear and lively countenance." This traveler also took notice of the very great abstemiousness of the Brahmins in the Indies, who lodge on the ground, abstain from music, from all sorts of agreeable smells, who go very meanly clothed, are almost always wet, either by going into water, or by rain; "yet," says he, "I have seen also many of them very handsome and healthful."

(b) The experiment has often been made, and with equal success, in modern times, and especially since the commencement of the temperance reformation, and an opportunity has been given of furnishing the most decisive proofs of the effects of temperance in contrast with indulgence in the use of wine and of other intoxicating drinks. This experiment has been made on a wide scale, and with the same result. It is demonstrated, as in the case of Daniel, that "MORE" will be secured of what men are so anxious usually to obtain, and of what it is desirable to obtain, than can be by indulgence.

(1) There will be "more" beauty of personal appearance. Indulgence in intoxicating drinks and food leaves its traces on the countenance - the skin, the eye, the nose, the whole expression-as God "meant" it should. No one can hope to retain beauty of complexion or countenance who indulges freely in the use of intoxicating drinks and rich foods.

(2) "More" clearness of mind and intellectual vigor can be secured by abstinence than by indulgence. It is true that, as was often the case with, for instance, many secular writers, stimulating drinks may excite the mind to brilliant temporary efforts; but the effect soon ceases, and the mind makes a compensation for its over-worked powers by sinking down below its proper level as it had been excited above. It will demand a penalty in the exhausted energies, and in the incapacity for even its usual efforts, and unless the exhausting stimulus be again applied, it cannot rise even to its usual level, and when often applied the mind is divested of "all" its elasticity and vigor; the physical frame loses its power to endure the excitement; and the light of genius is put out, and the body sinks to the grave. He who wishes to make the most of his mind "in the long run," whatever genius he may be endowed with, will be a temperate man. His powers will be retained uniformly at a higher elevation, and they will maintain their balance and their vigor longer.

(3) The same is true in regard to everything which requires vigor of body. The Roman soldier, who carried his eagle around the world, and who braved the dangers of every clime - equally bold and vigorous, and hardy, and daring amidst polar snows, and the burning sands of the equator-was a stranger to intoxicating drinks. He was allowed only vinegar and water, and his extraordinary vigor was the result of the most abstemious fare. The wrestlers in the ancient Olympic games, who did as much to give suppleness, vigor, and beauty to the body, as could be done by the most careful training, abstained from the use of wine and rich foods, and anything that would tend to make the body lethargic. Since the temperance reformation commenced in England and America, the experiment has been made in every way possible, and it has been "settled" that a man will do more work, and do it better; that he can bear more fatigue, can travel farther, can better endure the severity of cold in the winter, and of toil in the heat of summer, by strict temperance in all things, than he can if he indulges in the use of intoxicating drinks and rich foods. Never was the result of an experiment more uniform than this has been; never has there been a case where the testimony of those who have had an opportunity of witnessing it was more decided and harmonious; never was there a question in regard to the effect of a certain course on health in which the testimony of physicians has been more uniform; and never has there been a question in regard to the amount of labor which a man could do, on which the testimony of respectable farmers, and master mechanics, and overseers of public works, could be more decided.

The idea that more comes from less is one that is contrary to the thinking of the world.  We are set, by nature, to think in terms of self-indulgence and of the ease and pleasure of the body.  We think it a one-time thing and we think ourselves deserving of such pleasure because of the difficulty of our lives or the pressures of our situations.  This is all besides the fact that things taste so good, or that there is, indeed, a short-term pleasure gained from the indulgence in intoxicating beverages or rich foods.  It is our right and our privilege to have such things as the fruit of our labors.  That is the way we, as people, think naturally.

It is the precise opposite of how the Bible teaches true living and benefit can be enjoyed.  The Bible teaches us that self-denial and self-discipline are the way of happiness.  Of course, the largest reason for this is that the goals that God tells us are truly worth pursuing in life, and that will reward us most are best procured by the denial of self and the eschewing of worldly pleasures and indulgences.

I need to examine my life and see to it that I am not pursuing the wrong values and priorities in my daily life.