"One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." Proverbs 11:24-25 (NIV) Always leave a tip!
My husband and I used one of our many restaurant gift cards that we received for Christmas the other night. I will not give the name of the business, but I have to say, the service STUNK! Our food took forever to arrive, our salads, appetizer and meal all came at the same time. I was very irritated.
My initial reaction to our poor service was to not leave a tip. You know, the whole, "I'll show them" attitude. (Christ-like, I know!) The food turned out to be very good and as the meal progressed, my pouty, self-entitled attitude slowly subsided. I began to think about our server. I do not know their story, but everybody has one. Maybe they live paycheck to paycheck. Maybe they are a single parent. Maybe they had served grouches, like myself, all day and they were tired. Maybe they were sick. Who knows. We finished our food and when we received our check, my husband left them about a 25% tip. Had they earned it? Not based on their performance while we were at their table. In spite of the service, the right thing to do was to leave, not just a tip, but a very good tip.
Why?
Simply because how much money would we accumulate at the end of each day if God tipped us based on our performance?
Lord, thank you for your grace. Forgive me for my, sometimes self-righteous attitude. I am nothing without you. Help me to show others the same love and compassion you have shown to me.
Thank you SO much for this! This is very convicting.
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