In the book of Joel, Joel tells of a swarm of locusts that have overtaken the land and eaten everything in sight.  And after these locusts have eaten everything, the great locusts will come and eat what is left.   You think that this is funny.  But, this is the army of the Lord doing the Lord's bidding.  He sends the locusts to first eat everything we have and then He sends the great locusts to devour everything that is left.

       Joel here is calling the leaders to repentence for the way they have been teaching the people.  Can this also be a call of repentence to the pastors and leaders of our churches today?  Have they been teaching the people falsely?  This is only one way of looking at the topic of Gluttony.

       A second way is to look at gluttony is as a stronghold of Satan.  In this sense, it is an addiction no different than any other.  We use food or the spending of money to compensate for something that is missing in our lives, and that is usually a secure feeling of being loved.  It's easy to justify eating.  And it's easy to justify spending money on food or meals.  Our bodies need physical food to stay alive.  It's also easy to say that we are treating ourselves to something good because we deserve it.  No one else is going to treat us so we may as well do it ourselves.

       Oh, how the Devil has deceived us into believing this.  First of all, we are indeed loved by none other than the Lord God Almighty, Himself.   He is the only one who ever loved any of us enough to ask His Son to die so that we could live with Him in His presence forever.   Secondly, has God ever treated us badly and not given us whatever we desired.  NO!  He has given us everything we need for this body and for our daily living.   He has given us life, food, clean air to breathe, shelter, incomes, clothing, abilities to use talents he's showered us with, and families to love and care for.  So, why do we still need to go out and act like no one loves us or no one cares about us.

       We are so blind!   We can't see anything that isn't physical.  We can't feel anything that isn't physical.  Why?????   It's only because we've been so conditioned to think only in the physical.  How do we go about changing this in us?   God's Word tells us to seek Him and His Kingdom first and then He will give all these things to us because He knows that we need them.  In another place, God's Word tells us that if an unbeliever gives their children food, clothing and shelter, won't our Heavenly Father give us much better things, or will He allow a mere human to outdo Him.

       So, where and how can we change this in us.  When God says to seek Him and His Kingdom first, we are to do just that.  We are NOT to seek after our own pleasures first.  We are NOT to seek after building our own little kingdoms first.  So, we have to go back to SQUARE ONE and begin all over with a completely different mind-set.  We need to put GOD FIRST and HIS KINGDOM FIRST in our lives.  So now, get off of your human weights and put on your heavenly weights.  In other words, turn your thinking upside down and become new creatures with your eyes and mind and heart completely focused on the Lord.

       CAN YOU DO THIS?   Are you willing to do this?  Do you need help in doing this?  Does this mean that you must have a relationship with the Lord?  Does this mean that you must stop living for yourself?  The answers to these are most definitely, YES!!!!!!!!!  Now, it only takes you to give yourself:  mind, body, heart, soul, and everything else that you think belongs to you, over to the Lord God and LET HIM BE YOUR LORD AND MASTER.  This is what He has wanted all along and what He is now bringing about, not only in His church going people, but also in his people all over the world.

       Gluttony------locusts or stronghold.  Both, yet one and the same.   Locusts eat away at the outside of the plant until nothing is left but the core and then the greater locusts come and eat away at the core until the entire plant is dead.  The stronghold of addiction starts out as a little thing and grows and grows until it becomes so powerful that it takes everything out of your living, and can, in the end cause death and destitution.  The end results of both is death.  And just as Scripture says that the wages of sin is death, so death is the end of these.   Can we equate locusts and strongholds with sin?  That would be very wise.  The remedy------just as God requests.   Repent, turn to Jesus, and ask Him to come into your hearts and minds and change them so that your entire being can be healed and brought to eternal life.  Sounds easy doesn't it.  It is, because with God on our side in doing this, we become overcomers and gain the victory that Christ won for us on the Cross 2000 years ago.  PRAISE BE TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST FOR ALL THE GOOD THINGS HE HAS DONE.