Good Eyes!

ghaH 'Iv ghajtaH a generous mIn DichDaq taH ghurtaH; vaD ghaH shares Daj Soj tlhej the mIpHa'.

He who has a generous eye will be blessed; for he shares his food with the poor. Proverbs 22:9

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I've just discovered WordSpy.com a collection site for new words and phrases.

Words are (obviously) a hobby of mine so I love how WordSpy.com tracks new words. The one that caught my attention lately was joy-to-stuff ratio (joy-too-STUF ray.shee.oh) n. The time a person has to enjoy life versus the time a person spends accumulating material goods.

What a challenging way to measure my life! AND... I think it's Biblical.

Good Eyes! In my family we call that out when someone spots something important - an overlooked item when packing, or say a misplaced pair of sunglasses. Whatever it is, we acknowledge the good observations with that praise.

Today's verse lauds "good eyes," too, believe it or not. But the eyes are those that look to the needs of others, not forgotten luggage.

I'm taking this detour from our almost completed transit through Psalm 27, because the verse caught my, uh, eye, the other day. In fact I know exactly which day, since often I'll read the current day's numbered chapter of Proverbs (eg. chapter one on the 1st, two on the 2nd, and so on).

On the 22nd of September this lead me to the arresting:

ghaH 'Iv ghajtaH a generous mIn DichDaq taH ghurtaH; vaD ghaH shares Daj Soj tlhej the mIpHa'.

He who has a generous eye will be blessed; for he shares his food with the poor. Proverbs 22:9

Now - there is no word in Klingon for "generous." That's okay - the original text doesn't say generous either - it says "tov," good. The same word as God declared over creation when he "saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." (Gen 1:31).

So we're told the person with the "good eye" (the bountiful eye, the the KJV reads) will be blessed. The phrase that follows spells out what the "good eye" means - "he shares his food with the poor."

Having a QaQ mIn, a good eye, is vital- it helps us see what we need to do. I do find it far easier to look past the front page to the comics - to watch the sitcoms instead of the news. Who wants to see what is wrong?

Well, I think that is the point. If I see what I need to do, and share my "bread" - giving it away, what will that leave me? Blessed.

If we see so clearly, then maybe we can live up to this description in Isaiah

For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, when the blast of the dreaded ones is like a storm against the wall. Isaiah 25:4

How's your joy-to-stuff ratio? I can see mine needs work.