Carrying Water

“Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” (Proverbs 11:25 ESV)

When I was a young child, I used to visit my grandma who lived in a house by a river in India. This was their only source of water. Her youngest son, my uncle, was in his early 20’s at the time. Every day, he would make multiple trips to the river, fill up his bucket, and take the water to where it was needed. He filled the holding tanks in the house; he watered all the plants in the back yard; he brought in water for cooking and bathing--and he did all this willingly, without being asked.

We all have various sized buckets--our potential is determined by our opportunities and our abilities. Yet, it is not the size of the bucket that matters--but our willingness to carry the water. We may be blessed with intelligence, talent, freedom, charm, eloquence, and favorable circumstances--but it is our work ethic that will determine our effectiveness.

Be generous with your  gifts. In the beginning, you may feel weak and incompetent. Yet, you shall develop endurance as you proceed. As you share your strengths with the world, take care that your generosity does not handicap those around you. Allow others to develop their own strengths.

“Give in proportion to what you have. Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves.” (2 Corinthians 8:11-13 MSG)