Proverbs 11:25 ESV
Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.
[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+11%3A25&version=ESV]
This verse continues the theme of the last (LINK): the man who blesses another will be blessed by the Lord. The focus of verse 25, however, is on the spiritual as much as the physical.
The most basic form of this proverb’s message is common knowledge. Teachers learn their subject better in the teaching of it; parents gain greater wisdom in advising their children; pastors grow in the knowledge of the Bible in imparting it to their congregation. The teacher, therefore, blesses himself in the blessing of others. The verse, however, guides us to a deeper, more fundamental truth: whoever blesses others, God blesses in return.
To equate this blessing to physical and material well- being would be mistaken, though. God does bless some with wealth- Solomon and Job are definite examples of this- but this is only the smallest part of His kindness. After all, the riches of the earth reside where the “moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19).
No, the greater and more glorious gift of God is His wisdom and guidance, His Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5; 14:17). As the proverb itself says, “one who waters will himself be watered.” Like a plant requires water to live, so His people require His guidance, and as He is a light in the darkness (Exodus 13:22), so we are to be a light to the world, watering it as He watered us (Matthew 5:14) and being blessed in doing so.
God bless.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.