Dad is home with his teenagers as mom is away shopping. He finishes his chores on this Saturday morning and then decides to take a nap. He stretches out on the family couch in the living room and is fast asleep. The teenagers notice that he’s sleeping, and they decide to pull a prank of some kind on their father, for this is just too easy. After thinking for a few moments, they remembered that mom had purchased some limburger, stinky cheese that was still left in the refrigerator. They broke off two small pieces and placed them gently at the base of his nostrils. They sat back and waited. The stench wakened their dad, and his first comment was, “It stinks in here.” Followed by “It stinks in the family room,” then as he walked to the kitchen, “It stinks in the kitchen.” Then he opened the sliding door and stepped outside, saying, “It stinks out here. It stinks everywhere. The whole world stinks!”

Just maybe the stink is on you!

How you view the world, how you see the neighborhood, co-workers, community in which you live has a lot to do with your internal eye sight. In Hebrew thought, a “good eye” was an idiom for generosity and sincerity. An “evil eye” referred to greed, envy, selfishness, or stinginess. The “eye” referred to the disposition of your soul or motive of heart, the lens through which you see and evaluate things. It is the very attitude of heart that eventually shapes the whole person.

“A generous eye will itself be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.” Proverbs 22:9

An individual who has a “generous eye” will be one that is wealthy and satisfied. Let’s get an eye exam, make an appointment and see the Chief Ophthalmologist and make sure our vision, the lens in which we see the world around us, is clear, one of giving, generosity, forgiveness, and of hope.