Am I being a good steward or just plain stingy?
I will admit; I love getting good deals. Clearance racks attract me like a bee to flowers, huge savings always excites me and I enjoy bargaining at garage sales.
Is there anything wrong with loving a good deal? Absolutely not. Budgeting and making your dollars stretch is important when it comes to being a good steward over financial matters.
But if your “good deal” comes at a loss to someone else, is it a good deal?
Are you a Good Steward or Just Plain Stingy?
It went viral on Reddit awhile back; a story of a pastor who didn’t tip her waitress.
A pastor dined at a nice restaurant with a party of 10. As is custom with large parties, her receipt added on the 18% gratuity. The pastor put a 0 in the tip space and wrote, “I give God 10%, why do you get 18%?
Another waitress took a photo of the receipt and and posted it on Reddit with the remark of “My mistake, I’m sure Jesus will pay for my rent and groceries”. I don’t need to go into all the detail here, other than supposedly, the pastor did leave a cash tip. A simple search will reveal more of the story.
Here’s where I am going with this. The Comments.
Yes, I read comments, please don’t ask me why because normally I walk away feeling like there is no hope what-so-ever for humanity. But this time I learned something.
The majority of commentators said something along this line “Christians are the worst tippers”. Another saying went like this, “if your table prays, run away”. I was shocked.
Was it really true? I began asking people I knew in real life that worked as a waitress. The answer was yes. Typically those who prayed at the table, or portrayed some form of Christian religion were the worst tippers.
*sigh*
It was also true, when we went out to eat with an older couple in our fellowship. We talked for a long time, (like 2 hours) and since it was evening and not many patrons there, the waitresses were amazing at keeping us supplied with water. The other couple was paying, but the two dollars dropped on the table was horrifying. Especially after the great service we had received.
I probably don’t need to mention that Jason and I quickly pooled our small cash and managed to leave a more appropriate tip.
Now, before I leave you thinking we are perfect tippers, I need to mention the following. Depending on the circumstance, people providing other services should also be tipped.
Haircuts, pizza delivery, and movers just to name a few, also rely on tips for their income. If you are on vacation, it is appropriate to tip for different kinds of services too.
I did not know that.
Growing up in the country, we could have pizza (food in general) delivered. The few vacations that we went on, I was young enough that I didn’t pay attention if my parents did tip. Mother always did the hair cutting, and I learned how as well; although on occasion I will have someone else do it.
In the Florida Keys two years ago, Jason and I carefully combed through different things we wanted to do. Snorkle, and sailing were at the top of the list. After reading reviews, comparing prices and finding coupons we set out one morning for a sail. To our dismay we discover that people are tipping the crew as they left the boat. With only a $20 in a our pockets to cover lunch we walk off shamefaced.
I start researching who much we should be tipping (and trying to decide if we could afford the things we wanted to do), and discovered that we were considered “cheap-scapes”. Yup, Christians are bad tippers. 🙁
I’ve learned a lot since then, and if you’ve hung with me through my ramblings, hopefully you will have too.
So if I don’t tip, am I being a good steward or just plain stingy? Let’s put it this way, service people rely on tips to pay their bills. Want to know what percent of their salary is made up of tips? Check out this post, it also gives you an idea of what you should be tipping.
Think about it this way, if you have the money to eat out or pay for one of these services, then you should have the money for tips. because when it comes down to it and you are wondering whether not tipping is being a good steward or just plain stingy; let me tell you, it’s just plain stingy! You can no longer plead ignorance. 🙂
This not only applies to tipping, but to a church buying things as well.
As a staff member of a church, we have made it a point to NEVER ask for a discount. If they give us one, that is great. But we are not going to ask for one.
I remember my first time being a Children’s Pastor we had a pizza party and the lead pastor told me to “Make sure to ask the pizza place for a discount. They give us a discount for being a church.” So I did.
A few years later I worked for a pizza place (to make ends meet) and I was on the other side of that conversation. The manager hung up the phone and said, “Those churches think that just because they are a church they are better than everyone else and deserve a huge discount!”
That made me think, is it being a good steward or being stingy; it is being stingy.