My dear readers,

Are you always wet?

Proverbs 11:25: “The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.” [synonymous parallelism]

Water is a critical life source for the world. Without water, no life can exist. With water, life begins and continues. For the Israelites in the Middle East, water was more treasured than in other parts of the world, with copious amounts of fresh water, including freshwater lakes, regular annual rainfall, melting snow from snow-capped mountains, and deep underground lakes. God told Israel when they entered the Promised Land that it would not be like Egypt, with a constant supply of water from the mighty River Nile. They needed to depend on the LORD to provide the early and latter rain for their annual survival. When neither the early nor the latter rain comes, the Promised Land would suffer as well as all who lived in it.

Deuteronomy 11:10-15: “¹⁰For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: ¹¹But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: ¹²A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. ¹³And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹⁴That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. ¹⁵And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.”

The LORD gave the reason for the clear delineation of Israel’s dependence on the early and latter rain, given in the preceding two verses. Deuteronomy 11:8-9: “⁸Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; ⁹And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey.” By this constant dependence on the early and latter rain for their survival, the LORD had designed a survival system for His people, reminding them of the pitfall of carnality if they were to forget the LORD and turn to idols. Deuteronomy 11:16-17: “¹⁶Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; ¹⁷And then the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.”

Whether it is a national or a church witness, the LORD’s desire for His people is always their holiness, achieved by depending on Him rather than on self or other gods. The world remains in spiritual darkness. The light of Christ is the only light that can penetrate through this spiritual darkness, designed and fabricated by the evil one, enhanced by the total depravity of sin inherited from the first Adam, man’s federal headship representative, who sinned against God in the Garden of Eden. But in Christ, God’s children become instruments of spiritual blessings everywhere they go. Everyone they interact with is an interaction on behalf of Jesus Christ. That is the thrust of Proverbs 11:25.

The literal translation is, “The soul that pronounces the benediction shall be made fat: and he that waters abundantly shall himself be watered.”

• Water others abundantly – The benediction or blessing of God’s children on others is as watering that gives life. The benediction of God was given by God in Numbers 6:23-27: “²³Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, ²⁴The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: ²⁵The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: ²⁶The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. ²⁷And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.” The one living and true God hears the blessings of His children. That is why God’s children need to be mindful and careful who and how they bless. Their blessing is not like a person who says, “bless you” after someone sneezes. That is more of a response born of a spontaneous gesture, like using muscle memory when driving. This heartfelt desire of a believer to pronounce God's benediction on everyone he meets fills his heart and mind with kindness, compassion, and goodness; it is grounded in God’s Word, not sentimentality. He relates to others with eternity’s perspective behind every action and word spoken and written. He tries to help and not to hurt. He sacrifices his personal desires and preferences in order to help others. He cares very much for sinners’ salvation. He cares for fellow believers' spiritual well-being.

He serves the Lord faithfully by helping others. He is generous and considerate. He thinks of others first before himself. When he hurts someone, he is ever ready to seek forgiveness and apologise for his wrongdoing. He is prayerful as he learns to pray without ceasing, knowing that only when he leans on his God can he continue to water others bountifully. He studies God's Word diligently to ensure that he waters others bountifully according to the teaching of God’s Word. He knows that sincerity is important only after truth has been understood and applied. Sincerity is never a replacement