Have you been in situations where you were ashamed to be a Christian? Not that you were ashamed of Christ or your faith in him, but that you were associated with other Christians. One of my most vivid memories of feeling this was when I was a server at Applebee’s.
One of my fellow servers was having a bad night. She just looked ticked off. Though I feared that she might take my head off, I gathered some courage and asked her what was going on. She pulled $20 out of her apron and said, “Some (insert expletive here) left this as my tip. Christians are such (insert another expletive).”
I took the piece of paper from her and realized it wasn’t actually a $20. It looked like a $20 on the front, but one the back the “gospel” was printed along with some reasons why this was way better than an actual $20. At that moment I was ashamed that somehow I was tied to the guy who had left it.
This is the most glaring example of a Christian leaving a horrible tip, but Christians had a reputation for being horrible tippers. You didn’t want to work the Sunday afternoon shift. All the church people were so demanding and you hardly made anything. From some servers I know this is still how Christians are viewed.
Why are Christians such bad tippers? We are supposed to show mercy and grace. Which I would assume means having patience, even when service is bad. We are supposed to be generous and a light to the world, not greedy. I believe Christians should be the best tippers. It might seem like it’s a little thing, but trust me, it says a lot to the people we’re tipping (or not tipping).
Any thoughts on why Christians are so bad at this?
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4 comments:
Because we just gave 10% at church and now are only down to 90% to live on for the week?
Seriously, this is such a given anymore, I don't understand it. Is it possible it's just clear that people are coming from church, so it's easier to spot Christians? Or, is it really a lower tip than the same time on other days?
I'm afraid I know the answer.
This is such an issue for me--I really don't want to ever go back out to a restaurant with my friends if they don't tip fairly. When I was with my parents last month, we had breakfast at Bob Evans where they are regulars. Their regular server stopped to chat with them as she was in the smoking section that day. She said she didn't mind it b/c (it was Sunday) she hated to have to wait on the people who came in after church--they were the rudest and always tipped the least. WHY IS THIS??!!! We were all thoroughly embarrassed. Sigh.
I was once told by someone that they tipped a "reasonable" amount and that they were just being responsible and accountable to God for what He gave them. Obviously ridiculous, which is always why I tip no less than 20%. I feel that I have to make up for those ignorant people that give Christians a bad reputation. And yes, a lot of Christians are very rude and demanding...I guess they've forgotten what the meaning of grace is, and that they've been granted a good dose of it.
Christians are cheap. That's it. And it's everywhere. They're also often mean, rude and demanding. And I'm not even being funny.
When I waitressed, it was the same thing. Little or no tip, or a tract like you described.
Christians are such bad tippers that when we had conferences at our monstrously big church in the Chicago area, they actually made an announcement from the stage to tip well!
I always tell people I go out to eat with that if we're going to pray at the table, we have to TIP MORE!
(Trevorly -- I've been lurking in your blog for a while, but I had to comment on this post. It's Tim's Sistah, so you know I'm not a stalker)
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