Does Tipping Matter?

My friend insisted on picking up the check. We were away at a Christian conference and having a double date with our wives. When the check came, my friend quickly grabbed it and said, "This is on me."

I looked across the table as my friend completed the information to charge the meal to his room. When it came to the tip, I was surprised that he gave the waiter ten percent.

Christ follower?

As followers of Jesus, we believe in the two greatest commandments. The first is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and all your mind. And the second is to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Jesus said, "This sums up all the laws and what was said by the prophets."

Lastly, Jesus, before he ascended to Heaven, gave his followers what is called the Great Commission. He told them, "Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you"

In other words, if you love me and love others, then you'll tell them about me.

I challenged my friend.

I said, "I see you left the waiter a 10% tip. Do you think that's enough?"

He said, "I always tip ten percent. I think that's more than enough."

I continued, "The rule of thumb on tipping is fifteen percent for acceptable service and twenty percent or more for excellent service. Here, we are at a Christian conference as representatives of Jesus. You are not even given this waiter the 15 percent."

He said, "I tip what I think is fair. I could care less about the rule of thumb."

I explained, "Like it or not, we are reinforcing a stereotype or reshaping it. Are Christians cheap, bad tippers, or generous good tippers?"

"What do I care what he thinks?" he said, clearly annoyed with me.

But I went on…

"I've seen you write checks of fifty and even one hundred thousand dollars to qualified Christian charities. I know you are generous. This tipping doesn't square with your generosity."

And I asked him, "If you tipped an extra ten percent on every restaurant meal for a year, how much more would you spend in a year?"

He thought for a moment and said, "I don't know, maybe one thousand to fifteen hundred dollars."

Then I asked, "What kind of witness would that allow you to be for Jesus to those waiters and waitresses?"

My friend ended the conversation by saying, "I didn't realize what an opportunity I was letting pass for one thousand dollars a year. I need to consider tipping to be a part of my ministry instead of judging what is fair."

When I go out with my friend these days, his changed perspective on tipping has opened the door to witnessing opportunities. It is fun to watch.

One more tipping story.

There were five of us having lunch at a steak house just before the government decided to close everything during the Covid outbreak. We all knew it was coming. The restaurant was nearly empty, and the servers were nervous about their future income.

One of the guys at our table said, "Let's give all the cash we have on us to the waiter to show him we love him."

We dug in our pockets and came up with about $300. As my friend handed the waiter the money, he said, "We know you are going into a tough economic time, and we wanted to help you. God bless you, and thank you for your service."

I was turned to that restaurant after COVID-19, and that story lived on among the wait staff. They knew we were Christians as they saw us pray and overheard our conversations. Most importantly, we showed that we loved that waiter and cared about him.

Wherever we are, even in a restaurant, we must remember who we are and who we represent. We are followers of Jesus, and we are members of his family.