I know.
Weird title.
I’m going somewhere with this.

Although it’s hard to pick one favorite Psalm, I’d have to say Psalm 16 ranks right up at the top for me. It’s one of the few Psalms I’ve put to memory and I love to run through it in my head right before I go sleep.

There’s one line that always makes me smile. Verse seven says, “I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.” I like the idea of God downloading His wisdom while I’m sleeping—teaching me even as I’m in a semi-conscious state. But there’s more.

The word “heart” in the phrase “even at night my heart instructs me,” is a very interesting word in the original Hebrew. It actually translates, “Even at night my kidneys instruct me.” Kidneys!

In ancient times, it was believed that the seat of human emotion resided in the lowest organs of the body—like saying, “from the bottom of my heart.” When animals were sacrificed in the temple, the most precious, choice part of the offering were the internal organs. Especially the fat around the kidneys.

Fast forward one thousand years and the Greeks took it even farther.
Or maybe I should say, even lower.

When Paul wrote a letter to his friend, Philemon, he said, “Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.”

In Greek, “hearts” mean “bowels.”

So, this week, I dare you to tell your loved ones:

“I love you with all the fat around my kidneys,”
or
“I love you from the bottom of my bowels.”