"Our schools are to be training schools; and if men and women come forth from them fitted in any sense for the missionary field, they must be led to realize the greatness of the work; practical godliness must be brought into their daily experience, if they would be fitted for any place of usefulness in the cause of God.— Gospel Workers, 291. CE 209.1"
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
The EGW passage emphasizes practical godliness and usefulness in God's cause. Matthew 5:16 encourages good works so that others may glorify God. The connection is that both passages link inner faith with outward actions that benefit others and reflect God's character.
"Hundreds of young men should have been preparing to act a part in the work of scattering the seeds of truth beside all waters. We want men who will push the triumphs of the cross; men who will persevere under discouragements and privations; who will have the zeal and resolution and faith that are indispensable in the missionary field.— Gospel Workers, 293 . CE 209.2"
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
EGW's call for young men to scatter the seeds of truth and persevere in missionary work directly reflects the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, where Jesus commands his followers to go and teach all nations.
"The great reason why so few of the world's great men, and those having a college education, are led to obey the commandments of God, is because they have separated education from religion, thinking that each should occupy a field by itself.... CE 209.3"
"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
EGW's statement about the separation of education and religion leading to a rejection of God's commandments aligns with the concept in 1 Corinthians 2:14 that the natural man cannot understand spiritual things. Both passages address the difficulty of worldly wisdom grasping spiritual truths.
"There are many of our youth whom God has endowed with superior capabilities. He has given them the very best of talents; but their powers have been enervated, their minds confused and enfeebled; and for years they have made no growth in grace and in a knowledge of the reasons of our faith, because they have gratified a taste for story reading. They have as much difficulty to control the appetite for such superficial reading as the drunkard has to control his appetite for intoxicating drink. These might today be connected with our publishing houses, and be efficient workers, to keep books, prepare copy for the press, or to read proof; but their talents have been perverted until they are mental dyspeptics, and consequently are unfitted for a responsible position anywhere. The imagination is diseased. They live an unreal life. They are unfitted for the practical duties of life; and that which is the most sad and discouraging is, they have lost all relish for solid reading.... CE 209.4"
"And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible."
EGW's description of youth who have weakened their minds through superficial reading and lost their relish for solid reading, drawing a parallel to a drunkard's addiction, shares a thematic connection with 1 Corinthians 9:25, which emphasizes temperance and self-control in all things to obtain an incorruptible crown. Both passages highlight the importance of discipline and avoiding harmful indulgences.