Check Please

  I'm a decent tipper.  I always have been.  When I was a salesman it was a way to assure that subsequent visits to the server's table would be a positive experience for my customer and me.  So, in essence, I was paying for future service rather than thanking for the present.  Over time I got to know some of the servers.  I learned that many were single mothers and struggling.  Some were in school and this was one of a couple of jobs that kept them in school.  They don't have benefits and their income is usually below minimum wage as employers assume tips will make up the difference.  (I don't even know if that's legal but I do know it happens.)  Tammy worked for me as a youth director and she was a server for many years.  She assured me that tipping meant the world to the servers.

  I tend to tip 20%, but not always.  If I go out to lunch with a group and we pay our own way, I most always tip 20%.  Afterall, if the bill is about $12 what's another $2.40?  But when the bill get's larger I begin to cringe. Sunday Nancy and I, the girls and two guests went to The Branding Iron after church.  The bill was $69.  20% would be $13.80.  Ouch... now my bill is over $82 and that seems like so much.  Why is it that my generosity wains when the amount grows?  It was my choice to buy.  The guests would have covered their own fare had I not picked it up.  If we all had paid our own way I would have encouraged anyone who asked to consider a 20% tip.  Did the waitress work any less because the table bill was consolidated?  Did she have to bring less drinks or plates of food?  Of course not.  So why my hesitation?

  It could be that I'm just stingy when the numbers get high.  I'm just not as generous as I'd like to think.  Perhaps it's a gender thing. Would I have gone 20% with a male server instead?  I hope that wouldn't enter into it.  The server was a person of color.  Did that matter?  I'd like to think I've curbed any bigotry and even tend to be more generous knowing the injustice that she faced day in and day out.  I also know that I tip less at a buffet than I do at a full service restaurant.  Is that because the buffets I visit tend to be Chinese?  Again, I believe it has more to do with service than bigotry.

  So why share this personal reflection?  Two reasons:

(1) This is a blog and people tend to do that in blogs.

(2) I think self-examination and self-awareness is what truly separates us from the animal kingdom.  Taking time to ask, "why do I do the things that I do?"(cross reference Romans 7:15) help you to become a better person.  In this blog alone I reflected on my own generosity, the justice issues centered on those who serve us, and the danger of allowing passive bigotry to rule my life (a habit I seek to eliminate from my life.)

   I encourage you to go through these acts of mental gymnastics.  Self-reflection, especially among those seeking to be disciples of Christ, is the root to moving closer to the image of Christ that will transform the world.  

   (By the way, I tipped 20% Sunday.)