"I am personally acquainted with some who have lost the healthy tone of the mind through wrong habits of reading. They go through life with a diseased imagination, magnifying every little grievance. Things which a sound, sensible mind would not notice, become to them unendurable trials, insurmountable obstacles. To them, life is in constant shadow. CE 186.1"
"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
Romans 12:2 emphasizes the renewing of the mind to discern God's will. EGW's passage describes how wrong reading habits can lead to a 'diseased imagination' and distorted perception of reality. Both passages highlight the importance of a healthy and transformed mind, although they approach it from slightly different angles.
Those who have indulged the habit of racing through exciting stories, are crippling, their mental strength, and disqualifying themselves for vigorous thought and research. There are men and women now in the decline of life who have never recovered from the effects of intemperate reading. The habit, formed in early years, has grown with their growth and strengthened with their strength; and their efforts to overcome it, though determined, have been only partially successful. Many have never recovered their original vigor of mind. All attempts to become practical Christians end with the desire. They cannot be truly Christlike, and continue to feed the mind upon this class of literature. Nor is the physical effect less disastrous. The nervous system is unnecessarily taxed by this passion for reading. In some cases, youth, and even those of mature age, have been afflicted with paralysis from no other cause than excess in reading. The mind was kept under constant excitement, until the delic…
"While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage."
2 Peter 2:19 speaks of being brought into bondage by that which overcomes a person. EGW's passage discusses how the habit of reading exciting stories can become an addiction, crippling mental strength and hindering spiritual growth. Both passages address the concept of being enslaved by harmful habits or desires.