"The Child's Diet The best food for the infant is the food that nature provides. Of this it should not be needlessly deprived. It is a heartless thing for a mother, for the sake of convenience or social enjoyment, to seek to free herself from the tender office of nursing her little one. MH 383"
"But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."
Both passages emphasize the responsibility of providing for one's own family. While 1 Timothy 5:8 speaks generally about providing for the household, the EGW passage specifically applies this principle to a mother's responsibility to nourish her child with breast milk. The connection is thematic, focusing on familial responsibility.
"The importance of training children to right dietetic habits can hardly be overestimated. The little ones need to learn that they eat to live, not live to eat. The training should begin with the infant in its mother's arms. The child should be given food only at regular intervals, and less frequently as it grows older. It should not be given sweets, or the food of older persons, which it is unable to digest. Care and regularity in the feeding of infants will not only promote health, and thus tend to make them quiet and sweet-tempered, but will lay the foundation of habits that will be a blessing to them in after years. MH 383.3"
"All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."
The EGW quote advocates for moderation and self-control in diet, particularly for children, to establish healthy habits. This aligns with the principle in 1 Corinthians 6:12, which emphasizes that not everything permissible is beneficial or conducive to spiritual well-being. The EGW passage applies this principle specifically to diet.