Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Corinthians 9:6

"But this [I say,] He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." — 2 Corinthians 9:6 (ASV)

But this I say. This I say in order to induce you to give liberally. This I say to prevent your supposing that because it is to be a voluntary offering you may give only from your superfluity, and may give sparingly.

He which soweth sparingly. This expression has all the appearance of a proverb, and doubtless is such. It does not occur indeed elsewhere in the Scriptures, though substantially the same sentiment encouraging liberality often occurs. See Psalm 41:1-3; Proverbs 11:24–25; Proverbs 19:17; Proverbs 22:9. Paul here says that it is in giving as it is in agriculture.

A man that sows little must expect to reap little. If he sows a small piece of land, he will reap a small harvest; or if he is miserly in sowing, and wishes to save his seed and will not commit it to the earth, he must expect to reap little.

So it is in giving. Money given in alms, money bestowed to aid the poor and needy, or to extend the influence of virtue and pure religion, is money bestowed in a way similar to the act of committing seed to the earth. It will be returned again in some way with an abundant increase.

It shall not be lost. The seed may be buried long. It may lie in the ground with no indication of a return or of increase. One who did not know the arrangements of Providence might suppose it was lost and dead. But in due time it shall spring up and produce an ample increase.

So it is with money given to objects of benevolence. To many it may seem to be a waste, or may appear to be thrown away. But in due time it will be repaid in some way with abundant increase. And the man who wishes to make the most of his money for future use and personal comfort will give liberally to deserving objects of charity—just as the man who wishes to make the most of his grain will not allow it to lie in his granary, but will commit the seed to the fertile earth.

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days, (Ecclesiastes 11:1). That is, when the waters, like those of the Nile, have overflowed the banks and flooded the whole adjacent land, then is the time to cast abroad your seed. The waters will retire, and the seed will sink into the accumulated fertile mud that is deposited, and will spring up in an abundant harvest. So it is with that which is given for objects of benevolence.

Shall reap also sparingly. He shall reap in proportion to what he sowed. Everyone knows this is true in regard to grain that is sowed. It is also no less true in regard to deeds of charity. The idea is that God will bestow rewards in proportion to what is given. These rewards may refer to results in this life, or to the rewards in heaven, or both. All who have ever been in the habit of giving liberally to the objects of benevolence can testify that they have lost nothing, but have reaped in proportion to their liberality. This occurs in various ways:

1. In the comfort and peace that results from giving. If a man wishes to purchase happiness with his gold, he can secure the most by bestowing it liberally on objects of charity. It will produce for him more immediate peace than spending it on sensual gratifications, and far more than hoarding it uselessly in his coffers.

2. In reflection on it hereafter. It will produce more happiness to remember that he has done good with it and promoted the happiness of others, than to reflect that he has hoarded useless wealth or squandered it in sensual gratification. The one will be unmingled pleasure when he comes to die; the other will be unmingled self-reproach and pain.

3. In subsequent life, God will in some way repay him far more than he has bestowed in deeds of charity. By augmented prosperity, by health and future comfort, and by raising up friends to aid us and our families when we are in distress and want, God can and often does abundantly repay the liberal for all their acts of kindness and deeds of beneficence.

4. God can and will reward His people in heaven abundantly for all their kindness to the poor, and all their self-denials in endeavoring to diffuse the influence of truth and the knowledge of salvation. Indeed, the rewards of heaven will be in no small degree apportioned in this manner, and determined by the amount of benevolence that we have shown on earth.

See Matthew 25:34-40. On all accounts, therefore, we have every inducement to give liberally. As a farmer who desires an ample harvest scatters his seed with a liberal hand; as he does not grudge it though it falls into the earth; as he scatters it with the expectation that in due time it will spring up and reward his labors, so should we give with a liberal hand to aid the cause of benevolence. Nor should we consider what we give to be lost or wasted, though we wait long before we are recompensed, or though we should be rewarded in no other way than by the comfort that arises from the act of doing good.