The Christian Discipline of Tipping

Somebody remind me. When I have children, I am going to teach them to be good tippers.

I'll be honest- this is kind of a pet peeve of mine. Imagine the following scenario-

You go out with your friends, family, church group, whoever to a restaurant. You're a decently-sized party. Your waiter waits holding your drink order as you bless the chips (for what who knows). You discuss Christian ideas throughout dinner. And then you get your bill. What do you do? Honestly. Do you tip well? Not a penny over 15%.? Or do find a reason to barely or not at all tip?

Hey, maybe the food wasn't the best ever. Maybe your waiter was a little grouchy (I've been known to have a bad day or two myself). Maybe your food arrived a few minutes later than everyone else's meal. But frankly, those seem like petty reasons to be a poor tipper.

I'm not saying that there is never a time to make a statement with your tip. In my experiences, however, I feel that those times are much rarer than we make them out to be. And frankly, I'd rather give a little bit more to (pardon me) put my money where my prayer is. Because probably the only lesson that a poor (Christian) tipper is going to impart is "Christians are stingy and so is there God."

I would encourage you to give your waiter the benefit of the doubt. If our Heavenly Father can give us good gifts we don't deserve, can't we do the same?