Good Digestion
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 NASB
Tender-hearted – Have you ever been so emotionally mistreated that your stomach became upset? Have you experienced trauma to the point of getting sick? Then you know exactly what this Greek word is all about. The word is eusplanchnoi, from two other Greek words, eu, meaning “good,” and splanchnon, a word that refers to the intestines. Getting sick to your stomach over an insult, abuse or personal slight is the exact opposite of this word.
In the ancient world, men believed that the seat of emotions was in the belly, the gut. Therefore, this word refers to that area of the body where we feel the upset or the joy. Paul exhorts the Ephesians to demonstrate compassion (tender-heartedness in English) to others. Why? Because compassion is desperately needed to allow disciples to grow. I don’t mean grading on the curve or avoiding red pen marks on student papers. I mean personal empathy with the deepest wounds of another.
Eusplanchnoi is in very short supply in this world. Most of us live with a mild case of emotional indigestion. Despite personal insults, accusations, misunderstanding and errors, we survive. We survive because we tolerate this mild abuse and we learn to self-medicate so we won’t feel the sting. We know things aren’t really right, but we have put up with these small emotional snubs so long and so often that we’ve developed what we think is an immunity. In fact, the disease of shame is still there, waiting for a trigger event to claim its hold over us.
God is not interested in our survival. That isn’t life. That’s just existing. Rocks exist. That don’t feel shame or guilt or joy or pleasure. At least not in our paradigm. But in Hebrew, everything feels. Mountains clap their hands for joy. Stars sing praises to the Lord. The earth performs a symphony of amazement. But we live in the truncated world of Greek rationalism. We have neutered our emotions in order to control our destinies. We survive. What kind of life is that? We know how to mix concrete but we don’t know how to listen to the music of the creation.
When was the last time you felt warm and fuzzy about yourself? When were you last compassionate to yourself? Ah, it’s much easier to be sympathetic toward others, to put on the “compassion” mask in order to hide those inner accusations that make us ashamed and afraid. That way people will focus on the external act and not ask, “How do you feel about being so nice to those people?” No, we shift the attention to the observable and avoid the hidden emotional chaos.
Hebrew compassion is a two-way street. When I show real euspanchnos toward someone else, I also benefit. I feel good about myself. My emotional intestines digest spiritual food perfectly. I feel alive. I discover that when I struggle with those indigestible feelings of shame or guilt, exhibiting euspanchnos halts the downward spiral. Compassion is spiritual Alka-Seltzer.
Topical Index: euspanchnos, tender-hearted, compassion, Ephesians 4:32
רָחַם
(raw-kham’)
Racham
Thank you alfredo
We often sing a song in our congregation that mentions racham as a showing of Mercy from the Lord.
shalom
B.B
Skip, I am amazed at how modern science proves the ancients right. About 80% of our serotonin production is in the gut. and it parallels our immune system. Low serotonin response equals low immune response. The immune cells all carry serotonin receptors, and are responsive to serotonin levels. If serotonin plummets, the immune response will not be far behind. An isolated person truly has little defense for themselves, nor ability to defend others.
We feel our emotions primarily somewhere in the chest cavity, whether heart, lungs, digestive tract, or (in a woman, anyway) reproductive organs, too. The ancients considered that entire cavity as belonging to what they called the belly. If the gut is not happy, we are not happy, but serotonin is the chemical messenger, as I understand it, of how well everything (and everyone) is relating. When the body is in homeostasis (physical shalom), our serotonin levels reflect it, and we feel connected and at peace with the world. Conversely, if we are at variance with the world, ourselves, or God, serotonin levels plummet, and we feel weirded out and disconnected. It feels like a slam in the gut because it IS one. This is supposed to alert us to the lack of shalom, whether inside or out, so we can fix it.
David talks about the reins (kidneys) as being the seat of the will. Well, that is where we produce our adrenaline, which is the energy we need to face challenges. Remarkable!
I have been thinking hard about shame, and what you have said about it. Nothing God made is wrong, and He wired shame into us for a reason. I have decided you are right on that. I look at tribal cultures, where the entire family goes into shame when a crime has been committed, and the family moves to reclaim their honor by administering justice. I am beginning to think that shame is supposed to be the impetus – the energy source – to restore justice. If one person has been victimized, the entire community is shamed UNTIL they accomplish justice. I am beginning to also think that shame is supposed to motivate us to forgive, also, for we resolve that shame when we do.
I suspect that toxic shame may be partly a modern result of the move by the state to make justice impersonal and impartial, but it does an extremely poor job of involving families and communities in the restoration of that justice. Private, unresolved shame is a societal problem in a very real sense. Victims no longer get vindicated nor is restitution made when all crime becomes crime against the state. Sinners no longer are required to repent to their victims, thus providing the opportunity for forgiveness, nor are they required to make restitution so the victim can be empowered to live again. Society is fast forgetting how to rise up to defend anyone who has been sinned against, or why they should. Now I suspect that we all suffer from this collective shame with no resolution, too.
I see feeble attempts by victimized people to try to protect or stand up for other victims, and this is empathy as well as an expression of their own need for justice, but victims themselves need help before they can be of real use to others, I have realized. One thing I know for sure is that unforgiveness is NOT the correct energy by which to turn around and empathize with or defend other victims!
I spent decades trying – and failing – to provide justice for others when I lacked it myself. Yes, shame can motivate us toward compassion, but only after we have received compassion ourselves. I am begging to differ with you just a little on your last statement – even though I believe your principle is sound – because I think there is a missing step. I am no good at supplying oxygen to others until I have some myself first – even just a little bit. This is why the flesh is weak. Only after we receive the justice, forgiveness and compassion of our Saviour are we in the correct position to reach out to others. We need a Kinsman Redeemer first before our compassion is going to be effective. I have decades of experience to remind me why even compassion – as a flesh response, anyway – is still not effective. This is because I need to experience that heavenly compassion first – and yes, you are absolutely right that I have to have compassion for myself BEFORE reaching out to others, too. Only after all that has been done have I found myself having something to share, as well as having the effective strength to share it.
Great comment. Thanks
Great points. Very important ones. The Adrenals, which sit atop the kidneys produce all sorts of important stuff. When the adrenals ain’t happy, nobody is happy!
Likewise, when you ain’t happy your adrenals ain’t either. Works both ways., or should I say, simultaneously? Nephesh. What’s old is new, it seems.