Bowels as Emotions

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, Genesis 43:30.

We looked at the usage of the word "bowels" as it is used to describe the undeniable link between a woman's inward feelings and her physical makeup and we saw that the King James Bible is exactly right. We can now look at how bowels are involved in emotions other than just sexual desire and the love of a child. Anyone who has ever experienced inward physical stirrings when emotions were high or unsettling understands that.

Other versions tend to make shipwreck of the obvious link between our inward makeup and our emotions. When I first began reading the bible, I desperately needed a book to straighten out my life. I wasn't looking for a little bit of religion. When I buy a car, I am not so much interested in how many different ways something can be said in my manual. I want a clearly written owner's manual that states what I am looking for in plain English. I want it accurate.

The King James Bible has done more to make me understand how I am made up and how I was designed to function more than any other book on this earth. I use it to train men, women and couples. When a life lesson has been learned out of its exact and scientifically accurate wording, we often get a good laugh out of the absurdity of how other versions state things.

Watch the ESV and the NIV cut the physiology out of Genesis 43:30.

ESV: Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there.

NIV: Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.

Your King James Bible would have you to know that there is a direct link between your inner organs and your emotions. A born again person is given the grace of God to have his emotions brought under subjection to the Spirit of God. 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, 1st John 3:17.

As a practical matter, the bowels need protection. There are natural predators which chase deer and elk and only seek to bite the soft part its prey's lower belly. When the bite is made, the very bowels of that animal become its downfall. As the animal runs away, the bowels begin to stream out. In the American Civil War, a gut shot was almost always fatal. There was simply no way to cleanse such a wound and even though the wounded soldier might walk away or talk with his friends, everyone knew that it was over for him.

We are told therefore to; Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, Ephesians 6:14. A Christian who takes a gut shot to his emotions can become worthless to God, his church, his family and to himself. The rise in effeminacy among men today wherein men now react like women utilizing their emotions first, logic second has wrought havoc in churches. We are told that truth is the protection for the bowels.

When a Christian fears that something will attack his or her emotions, it is a good time to anchor with truth. When Clark Kent gets shot in the guts, the bullets fall to the ground. When a vile nasty thing is said about a Christian, the words should fall just as harmlessly to the ground. The truth is that Jesus loves you. The truth is that you yourself have been foolish enough to say terrible things. The truth is that the more you react, the more people will suspect it is true. The more you stir up trouble about it, the more your church and family is in danger. When gut shots start falling harmlessly to the ground, you become invincible.