"As children emerge from babyhood, great care should still be taken in educating their tastes and appetite. Often they are permitted to eat what they choose and when they choose, without reference to health. The pains and money so often lavished upon unwholesome dainties lead the young to think that the highest object in life, and that which yields the greatest amount of happiness, is to be able to indulge the appetite. The result of this training is gluttony, then comes sickness, which is usually followed by dosing with poisonous drugs. MH 384.1"
"Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:"
The EGW quote warns against allowing children to overindulge in food, leading to gluttony. Proverbs 23:20 directly advises against associating with 'riotous eaters of flesh,' which aligns with the principle of avoiding excessive indulgence in food. The connection is clear and direct.
"Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)"
The EGW quote describes how indulging children's appetites can lead to gluttony and a focus on earthly pleasures. This directly parallels Philippians 3:19, which condemns those whose 'god is their belly' and who prioritize earthly things over spiritual values. The themes of prioritizing appetite and earthly desires are strongly present in both passages.
"Parents should train the appetites of their children and should not permit the use of unwholesome foods. But in the effort to regulate the diet, we should be careful not to err in requiring children to eat that which is distasteful, or to eat more than is needed. Children have rights, they have preferences, and when these preferences are reasonable they should be respected. MH 384.2"
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Both passages deal with the training of children. EGW expands on the principle of training by applying it to diet and the importance of respecting children's preferences within reasonable bounds. The connection is valid.
"Mothers who gratify the desires of their children at the expense of health and happy tempers, are sowing seeds of evil that will spring up and bear fruit. Self-indulgence grows with the growth of the little ones, and both mental and physical vigor are sacrificed. Mothers who do this work reap with bitterness the seed they have sown. They see their children grow up unfitted in mind and character to act a noble and useful part in society or in the home. The spiritual as well as the mental and physical powers suffer under the influence of unhealthful food. The conscience becomes stupefied, and the susceptibility to good impressions is impaired. MH 384.4"
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
The connection is strong. EGW directly applies the principle of sowing and reaping to the consequences of indulging children's unhealthy desires. The passage explicitly states that mothers who do this will reap bitterness.