Ve.Z: Ellen's Top 17 Tips

Ellen's Top 17 Tips
(yep! count 'em!)

God does not want you to give up anything that will truly make you happy here on this earth. All He really asks is for you to give up the things that are not good for you and would ultimately make you unhappy.
The Adventist Home, p. 502 - Adapted

If you study a lot, you should find some way to relax. Don’t study really hard all the time. Both your body and mind must have exercise. But think very carefully about the amusements that you choose. You should ask yourself: What influence will these amusements have on physical, mental, and moral health? Will I become so obsessed with my amusement that I forget God?
Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 652 - Adapted

One of the most dangerous places for entertainment is the movie theater. Instead of teaching right and wrong, good triumphing over evil, as is so often claimed, movies are the very hotbed of sin and breaking God’s law. If you habitually watch movies* you will be corrupted.
Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 652 - Adapted

Movies are the greatest influence and most powerful poison to the imagination, destroying religious thoughts, and reducing the true joy of real recreation. The more you watch, the more you want to watch, just like a drunkard wants more alcohol. The only safe way is to avoid the theater, the circus, and every other questionable place of entertainment.
Testimonies for the Church,vol. 4, p. 652 - Adapted

God cannot bless the time you spend at the theater or in the dance. As a Christian, would your really want to meet death in such a place? No one will want to be found there when Christ comes.
The Adventist Home, p. 516 - Adapted

As a true follower of Christ, you have to make sacrifices. You will choose to stay away from places of worldly amusement because you won’t find Jesus there—there is nothing there that will help you focus on heaven and grow in grace.
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, p. 328 - Adapted

There are amusements, such as dancing, card playing, chess, checkers, etc., which we cannot approve because Heaven condemns them. These amusements open the door for great evil. All such games should be condemned by Christians, and something perfectly harmless should be substituted in their place.
The Adventist Home, p. 498 - Adapted

As a Christian, seek only amusements that would strengthen your love of sacred things and increase your joy in service to God.
The Adventist Home, p. 517 - Adapted

Turn away from worldly pleasures that have a tendency to corrupt and mislead. Instead, choose innocent fun that will take you down pleasant paths where there is no danger. As a child of God, you never need to have a sad or mournful experience.
The Adventist Home, p. 499 - Adapted

If you want to honor God, it is dangerous for you to hang out with friends who don’t honor Jesus. If you seek out unchristian friends, and enjoy their dirty jokes and nasty stories and stupid talk, the pure and holy angels remove their protection and leave you to the darkness you have chosen.
Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 222 - Adapted

Cherish your influence and use it to win your friends to Jesus.
Messages to Young People, p. 391 - Adapted

Some types of recreation are great for both your mind and your body, but you must make an effort to find the best entertainment. Recreation in the outdoors, where you can think about the works of God in nature, will benefit you the most.
Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 653 - Adapted

No recreation helpful only to yourself will prove so great a blessing as that which makes you helpful to others.
The Adventist Home, p. 506 - Adapted

As a Christian, you have many sources of happiness and you can know with unerring accuracy what pleasures are lawful and right. If you can take Jesus with you and maintain a prayerful spirit, you are perfectly safe.
The Adventist Home, p. 513 - Adapted

Any amusement in which you can ask the blessing of God upon it in faith will not be dangerous. But any amusement which makes you less interested in your prayer time, in your personal devotions, and in attending prayer services is not safe, but dangerous.
The Adventist Home, p. 513 - Adapted

Never lose sight of the fact that Jesus is a wellspring of joy. He does not delight in your misery, but loves to see you happy.
The Adventist Home, p. 513 - Adapted

How About Jesus' Example as a Youth?

Jesus was a hard worker, which is how He got His exercise. He had no time to indulge in exciting, useless amusements. He had nothing to do with anything that would poison His moral and lower His physical fitness. He was trained in useful labor; even for enduring hardship.
The Adventist Home, p. 506 - Adapted

*In this issue of e.Zine, we have sometimes substituted the word “movies” for theater in adapted quotations from Ellen White. There were no moving pictures (movies) in Mrs. White’s day. However, the same types of entertainment that center on breaking God’s law (violence, sexual activity outside of marriage, unholy music, crude comedy) were found in the plays and dramatic enactments performed in the theaters of the 19th century. We believe the principles that condemn these entertainments are as applicable to the screen, mp3 player, or video games as to the stage.—eds.