Gluttony. Gluttony is the eating of more food than is needed for good health.

It is desirable to have a healthy appetite. In Western civilization the appetite of people often far surpasses their bodily hunger.

Because of the abundance of food many of the citizens are overweight. Being overweight causes a number of health problems. Overeating may have its root in psychological causes and it is not a simple matter for some believers to restrict their intake of food until normal weight is attained.

We do not wish to burden a believer who is eating too much because of insecurity, lack of self-control, or some other psychological problem. They themselves wish they could cease eating so much. They would regain normal weight if they could.

It would be well for an obese believer to consult with a physician to see if medical assistance is needed before starting on a dietary program.

In some instances it may be sufficient to make a strong determination to cease eating so much, and then to pray and ask the Lord's help in cutting down on our intake of food, particularly food that is high in calories. In no case should we indulge in excessive eating if we can avoid doing so. Gluttony is a food offered to an idol.

Fascination with athletic events. Some of the Western nations are heavily involved in amateur and professional athletics. Much time is spent thinking and talking about the feats of various teams and individuals.

While games and physical exercise are beneficial for people, the massive amounts of money and time devoted to sports in the Western world is idolatrous. The Bible commands us to redeem the time, that is, to use our time and energy wisely in terms of the enormous needs of the nations of the earth to learn of the Kingdom of God and of the provisions God has made for our salvation.

The Apostle Paul informs us that the soldier of Christ does not entangle himself with the affairs of this present life. For the Christian to spend his precious hours talking and speculating about athletic events may make him a candidate for a stern rebuke from the Lord and possible placement in outer darkness.

Can you imagine the Lord Jesus talking about who won what football or soccer game? The Lord Jesus was about His Father's business from the age of twelve. We too are to be about our Father's business, not engaging in the idolatrous worship of athletic events.

The Christian who is preoccupied with sports should ask the Lord if our exhortation applies in his or her case. Fascination with athletics can be a food offered to idols. Let the victorious saint flee from it!

Witchcraft. Those of us who are older would never have believed that we would see the day in which Satan is worshiped openly in the United States of America. But that time is here now.

The last two hundred years or so have seen an increased emphasis on materialism and behavioral psychology. The rejection of duality, stressing that the individual has no invisible soul but consists only of what the individual practices in his body, is characteristic of materialistic thinking. So is the concept that the human being is born a blank slate and becomes whatever his circumstances write on the slate.

To be continued.