Anyone who has ever had butterflies before giving a speech or a bellyache
before taking an exam, or diarrhea after receiving disturbing news knows
that the emotions and the intestines are interwoven. As a matter of fact,
as you'll see in the verse below, the Bible actually confirms the relationship
between the two…
Genesis 43:30 (KJV)
And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and
he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
1 Kings 3:26 (KJV)
Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her
bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living
child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine
nor thine, but divide it.
Job 30:27
My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.
Psalm 22:14
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart
is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
Song 5:4
My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were
moved for him.
Jeremiah 4:19
My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a
noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul,
the sound of the trump, the alarm of war.
Jeremiah 31:20
Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against
him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled
for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.
Lament. 1:20
Behold, O Lord; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart
is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword
bereaveth, at home there is as death.
Philip. 1:8
For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of
Jesus Christ.
Philip. 2:1
If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love,
if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
Col. 3:12
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies,
kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
1 John 3:17
But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and
shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of
God in him?
Upon studying these scriptures, it automatically brought to mind a widespread
bowel disorder quite prevalent today. Perhaps you are familiar with the
title… Irritable Bowel Syndrome is one of the least understood gastrointestinal
illnesses. After doing some brief research on the Internet, I found that
IBS is a chronic, treatable disorder that causes stomach pain, bloating,
and abnormal bowel movements. People with IBS have chronic diarrhea, constipation,
or both, for example several weeks of constipation followed by a few days
of diarrhea. Some patients have no abdominal pain in the morning, and
get stomachaches in the afternoon. Others go for two weeks without pain,
and then have a day of crippling pain. Nevertheless, each patient has
his own pattern… For some people, IBS is merely an occasional nuisance.
For others, "the pain is so intense that it dominates the patient's life."
People with severe IBS can spend hours a day in the bathroom, avoid social
activities for fear of losing control, and suffer a loss of dignity.
There is no biochemical or laboratory test for IBS, the way there is for
other colon problems. In IBS, the lab tests come back normal, yet the
colon does not function normally. Thus, physicians call IBS a "functional
disorder." Medical surveys indicate that some 35 million Americans suffer
from this condition. They also reveal that women with IBS outnumber men
by at least 2 to 1, and that people miss work for IBS and related disorders
more than for anything else, except colds. "The intestinal response to
environmental stresses is simply more exaggerated", says one gastroenterologist.
"For some people, stress causes headaches. Others are gut responders.
In any case, the body is telling us "we're getting to the end of our rope"."
Old-time doctors used to tell IBS patients the problem was all in their
mind… What would the Great Physician tell us?
Through various scriptural examples, we discover that God designed the
bowels to be the seat of sympathy and the tender passions, and so applied
the organ to the sense. Ladies, there is no doubt our compassions either
move us or restrict us.
If you'll allow me to refer to the term constipate, you will see that
it means to crowd or cram into a narrow compass; to prevent motion. What
could possibly agitate the intestinal canal and affect the peristaltic
motion of our bowels, holding them back from operating as God designed
them to function? Surprisingly, the apostle Paul brings us the answer…
2 Cor. 6:11-13
O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. [12]
Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.
[13] Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,)
be ye also enlarged.
Undoubtedly, the apostle Paul had a warm affection for the Corinthians,
in spite of the heartaches they caused him. There was no blockage in his
affections for the Corinthians; nothing that stopped the flow of his genuine
care and concern for them. His bowels yearned for their well-being… Paul's
mouth was opened unto them because his heart was enlarged with love for
these people and he fluently confirmed his love in this text. However,
the Corinthians were withholding their love from Paul. Their relationship
with him was clogged with compromise, having a stronger affection for
the world than for the things of God. Paul told them "ye are straitened
in your own bowels", meaning they weren't distressed with concern for
him, they were distressed with their own selfish desires! Their wants
had cramped them up as children of God and desensitized them to the needs
of others, namely Paul. It sounds to me like they had acquired a severe
case of "Irritable Bowel Syndrome"…
What was Paul's remedy for their "disorder"? He advised them to "be ye
also enlarged." To be enlarged means to undo the restriction; to release
from straits; to extend in dimension or to dilate. In other words, Paul
exhorted them to separate from the love of the world and increase the
flow of their compassion! Self-centeredness stops up what God designed
to operate freely in the hearts of His children. So many Christians are
constipated with matters that are rooted in their strong affection for
this world. The things of God and the men of God no longer move them.
They have constricted their bowels of mercies so tightly their hearts
have no space to consider even one lost soul! While they feel not the
slightest touch of another's misery except their own, they selfishly bathe
in God's mercies daily…
Lament. 3:22-23 (KJV)
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions
fail not. [23] They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
I have learned by experience that things, whether physical or spiritual,
grow with good management. Poor management of our hearts will unquestionably
hinder our Christian growth and the extension of our love for others.
Forgive the odd question, but how would you say your bowels have been
operating as of late? Though it is a private matter for each of us, there
comes a time when we must take honest internal inventory so that more
serious problems do not develop. Do you yearn with concern for others
or only yourself? Are you pained in your heart for the poor choices God's
people make or couldn't you care less? Do you groan with grief when folks
reject the gospel or only when your finances suffer? Has your tithing
come to a halt but not your spending? Are you sensitive to the saints
or closed to their needs? Would it distress you more to be personally
insulted or see your pastor disrespected? Does God's work have a narrow
place in your affections because your work is more important? What troubles
your gut the most, dear lady? Where do your sympathies reside? With what
emotions are your intestines typically interwoven -bitterness, envy, strife,
hatred, jealousy, malice, ill will, greed, impatience, fear, anxiety etc.
or a strong desire for righteousness? The more Christ centered we are,
the more enlarged our bowels will be toward the things and people of God
as the things of earth grow trivial. Compassionate concern will flow freely
from our lives. Yes, on this earth various issues will irritate our bowels,
but what agitates them the most reveals the true condition of our hearts…
I don't know about you, but I'd rather not fall prey to a self-centered
syndrome!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2003 Pamela A. Iannello
