John 16:12-15: Jesus said: ‘I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now… He will glorify me, since all he tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: All he tells you will be taken from what is mine.”
The watertight principle applies to your life just as it works for anything that holds water. Be it a jerrycan, bottle or even a boat. The principle states that “however firmly you tighten the lid, if the container has a small hole, the water will leak.” And it doesn’t matter how small or big the leak is, eventually the boat will drown, or the jerry will be empty.
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In your daily life and career, if you have small leaks in the marriage life or business or friendships, eventually it will fail. It is like working with staff who commit small frauds daily and consistently. Today someone takes paper clips pack, next someone prints private work using company stationery, then spends whole day on social media videos using company internet to access YouTube, Facebook or Instagram, you lose small things, but they are a lot when combined. It is such small loses that lead to business collapse. A house helper who steals small house items is more deadly than one who does it in overdrive. Over a long period of time, the damage is too much.
In life, we go through stages and at each stage, make sure you tighten the bolt so that there are no gaps of reversing to the previous state. In the first stage, if you are lucky, you start living with your parents. In the second stage, you may rent a small house and find a partner. You then get a job and save money. In the third stage, you could be owning your own house and now have children. You want to make sure that you set up your career and lifestyle so that you don’t drift to the past stage. If you don’t tighten the bolts, you risk losing your home and going back to live with your parents. That is like going backwards in your life. You must plan your life such that for each milestone you achieve, you never go back. Don’t allow a leakage in your career or life.
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How are you tightening your life’s bolts to ensure that the achievements you make have no possibility of failing or regressing, causing you to go back to the old state? You must apply the watertight principle which helps put your life’s work in compartments. When one fails, you cannot go backwards. You have an anchor to continue moving ahead.
This calls for a clear strategy, priorities and work plan to avoid living an artificial life. Avoid over borrowing to finance your lifestyle as you have a high risk of reverting back to the old state.