By Doug Inglish

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. —Malachi 3:10 (ESV)

Having grown up in agricultural areas, I am familiar with the term tenant farming. Under this system, a landowner will enter an agreement with a tenant who will work the farm. When the harvest is brought in, the landowner and the tenant share the profits. This system allows those who prefer farming as a way of life and labor, but can’t yet afford to purchase the land, to still make a living off the land.

It’s a common practice, and there are numerous variations, but typically, a crop such as corn or soybeans will be split 50/50 between the landowner and the tenant. The market has determined that, depending on variables, that’s a fair division.

If you were a tenant farmer, and had been managing successfully under such an arrangement, would you consider moving to a different farm if the owner there offered you a 10/90 split? You turn over 10 percent of the crop to the landowner, and the rest is yours to take to market and get your best price. There isn’t a tenant farmer in the country who would turn down that offer!

That’s how good you have it when you faithfully tithe. God owns it all, and there are so many scriptural references to make that point that I don’t even feel the need to scatter them through this article. You know them already, and can doubtless recite a half dozen right now, without the use of a concordance. But as owner, He sets terms that no landowner could possibly afford to offer, and no tenant could afford to refuse: return a tenth, and the rest you may use as you see fit.

Of course, you can get a better deal than that. Most people do get a better deal than that, at least on paper. In fact, the majority of the members on the books of your church are getting what they consider a better deal. They have entered into a partnership in which they own nothing, but use the property of another for their own profit, and return nothing to the Owner. They claim citizenship in His kingdom, but don’t return a tithe.

They convince themselves that this is a good deal. In fact, they may believe it is the only deal they can afford. On paper, it looks like a sure winner from their perspective.

Obviously they don’t get to tap into the rich promises that are, once again, so common in the Bible that you can think of more than I have the space to mention. But they clearly believe that a 0/100 split with God in which the windows of heaven are shut is more profitable to them than a 10/90 split with the windows wide open (for those who are paying attention, that was an unmistakable reference to Mal. 3:10).

Well, I could easily talk about how you can’t come out ahead by keeping the tenth that the Owner asks in return, but you’ve heard that before, too. You may even have heard it from me, and if you haven’t yet you likely will, because I do make that point. But for now, I’m not going to go in that direction. I will just take it as fact that you already know the texts, you’ve heard the testimonies, and there might not be an angle on the formula you haven’t had presented to you in some fashion. Hopefully you are enjoying the blessings of that 10/90 partnership and have some of your own stories.

So, here is what I do want to say about returning the tenth to the owner: Even if I thought it was a better deal for me (which I don’t), and even if I believed I could get away with it (which, in the long run, no one can really get away with it), I still don’t want to keep the tenth.

Yes, you read that right. I don’t want 10 percent of my paycheck.

To understand why, let’s get back to the farm. If a person who had been laboring hard for decades under a 50/50 split were offered a position on a different farm under the terms of a 10/90 split, it would sound unbelievably good. If the ten- ant were then told by the new owner that while the deal is 10 percent in return for the use of the land, he or she would not be compelled to turn it over, I don’t think the tenant would believe their ears. But I do suspect that anyone who got that kind of a deal would nevertheless turn in the 10 percent faithfully for the rest of their lives.

There are some solid reasons why they would do this. A sense of obligation. Fear of losing the deal. An increase in living standards so significant that the 10 percent wouldn’t even be missed.

Or, most likely, simple gratitude. When the standard is 50/50, how can you begrudge a tenth to the One who gave you the opportunity of a lifetime?

That’s the kind of gratitude that makes me say I don’t want 10 percent of my paycheck. Now if the check came to me 10 percent short, you can believe I’d make my way to the payroll office to straighten it out. I never said I wanted the 10 percent to be left out, and don’t doubt for a minute that I absolutely do want it to be there. I want it in my hands, if only briefly, so I can have the joy that comes from placing it in the hands of the One who gave me the opportunity of a lifetime.

I’m happy for the blessings. I have many stories from my own experience, and thousands more that others have shared with me, of those heavenly windows pouring out. But I have a better reason to give than all the blessings. My reason is simple gratitude that in a world where the devil wouldn’t even give a 50/50 split, God offers 10/90.

–Doug Inglish is RMC director of planned giving and trust services. Email him at: [email protected]