Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.” Proverbs 22:9
The bountiful eye sees plenty, not a lack thereof. The bountiful eye realizes that commerce is a living thing and wealth can actually grow. The bountiful eye is aware of opportunities all around and is constantly looking for more (and when you look, you tend to find).
Most importantly, the bountiful eye sees God and knows that he is the giver of all good gifts and has a unlimited supply of them. The bountiful eye doesn’t forget that God is the center of everything, including business.
The opposite of a bountiful eye is the eye that looks for calamity, focuses on failure, believes that there isn’t quite enough to go around. The impoverished eye is stingy because it is afraid that giving means becoming poor. The bountiful eye is generous because it sees more where that came from.
The word for “bountiful” can also be translated “good.” I have one good eye and one bad eye. As my bad eye tried (and failed) to bring the surrounding world into focus, it strained my good eye and eventually caused headaches. When I got glasses to help the bad eye get the correct focus, they relieved the strain on my good eye and my headaches went away.
I have to choose daily to correct my focus so I can see the world through a bountiful (good) eye. Through my experiences in business and faith, I have learned that this is not simply wishful thinking. If my attitude convinces me that there’s not enough, I will settle for the little I have. However, I get into high gear and start hunting down opportunities when my attitude reminds me, “There’s more available than you can ever gather!” This perspective relieves a lot of strain and headache.
The bountiful eye doesn’t forget that God is the center of everything, including business.
Jesus uses birds to illustrate God’s provision. I can no sooner exhaust the opportunities that he provides than a sparrow can deplete the forest of bugs and seeds. The forest resupplies faster than the sparrow can eat! In the same way, God is providing more opportunities for me to act upon than I have days to pursue.
Your business can grow. Opportunities are out there and it’s your job to shake the bushes and flush them out. Opportunities convert to dollars, and your business needs dollars to grow. Thank God for the opportunities he has waiting for you and ask his Spirit to show you where they are. Correct your focus, look through your good eye and go get busy.
