What does it mean spiritually if you hold back your giving?
Holding back your giving when you have the ability means you sow sparingly and therefore reap sparingly. Scripture teaches that such tightness in giving results in God holding back His blessings, just as a farmer who sows too little seed will not receive a full crop.
Les explains that Paul was exhorting the Corinthians to have their offering collected and ready, not to procrastinate, so it could be taken to Jerusalem. Then verse 6 applies the principle: “he who soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly.” Les points out that most people then were agriculturally connected, so Paul uses a farming illustration. A farmer who sows only half the required seed will not get even half a crop; the stipulated amount is needed for a full crop. Les teaches this carries into the Christian experience: if you are tight with your giving and hold back when you have the ability to give, God will be kind of holding back on His blessings. That is exactly what He is teaching.
But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
More Questions
What happens if you hold back your giving when you are able to give?
The sowing principle carries over into Christian giving: if you are tight with your giving and hold back when you have the ability to give, God will hold back His blessings on you.
What does it mean that he who sows sparingly shall reap sparingly?
Sowing sparingly means sowing less than the required amount of seed, and a farmer who does that will not even get half a crop; you have to sow the stipulated amount to get a full crop of grain.