The underlying link in this simile is sameness. The very same element, water falling from the sky, can either be a great blessing or a dreaded curse. The two individuals described are also the same. They are both poor. One would expect that the shared experience of poverty would stir compassion and mutual love. Instead, the oppressor takes advantage of the weakness of the other to make his life even more difficult. From a distance, this scene is ugly and repulsive. But look a little closer. Look into your own relationships. Look at the people who irritate you, those that you secretly despise, those who just don’t seem to get it. If you look closely enough, you will discover that you are not all that different. In fact, you are far more similar than different. Both of you are impoverished sinners, hopelessly lost outside the grace of God. Both of you are sufferers, reeling from the effects of a sinful nature and broken surroundings. A heart of kindness and compassion will never occur as long as we see ourselves as somehow richer or better. It is only when we look closer that oppression of others becomes noxious to our senses.