A GOOD EYE
Proverbs 22:9 NKJV
9 He who has a generous eye will be blessed,
For he gives of his bread to the poor.
What do you think of when you hear the term a good eye? The context will give you a hint. If we are talking about art or photography, someone with a good eye can see what looks aesthetically pleasing. Someone can have a good eye in baseball, so he won’t swing at too many bad pitches. A good eye can pertain to someone who can spot talent, quality, or detail.
But there is another good eye that we see in our verse for today. In the New King James, verse nine speaks of the blessings of the person with a generous eye. A generous eye is not an overly large pupil. In this verse, a generous eye is someone who gives of his bread to the poor. But in the marginal notes, the word for generous is literally translated as good. The ESV has the word as bountiful. But again, the marginal notes show the literal word in the Hebrew is good. So someone who is generous has a good eye. We could also say that someone who is a generous person is a good person. Generous is equated with good.
This good person, this generous person, is a blessed person. And they are blessed because they give. Verse nine says they give of their bread to the poor. Please note that it does not say that the generous give all of their bread to the poor and are forced to go hungry. Too often, the idea of being generous is daunting to people because they believe they have to give all their bread. In the Scriptures, we don’t ever see God instructing people to give everything they have to live a life of poverty. We do see God instructing people to give, but there is a harvest coming. A little boy gave his lunch to Jesus, and thousands were fed with food left over. The fear of poverty, of not having enough, keeps people from being generous. But the generous, the good, are blessed. Jesus said give, and it shall be given to you in Luke 6:38. Those who have a good eye are those who are willing to give to help others. And in their giving, they are blessed.
APPLICATION
If you take a moment to stop and think about the people in your life who you consider to be good, the chances are strong that they are generous. They may be generous with their money, but generosity is not limited to money. Someone can be generous with their time or with their help. But pretty much the people we consider good are generous people.
A good eye can denote a good perspective. Someone who is generous has a good perspective about life. They are not trying to protect their lives by holding onto all they have. They believe that life is about what they can do for others. So God bless the generous people who have a good eye. May their tribe increase. And better yet, may God help us develop a good eye. More good is more better!