A disturbing story came from Glenn Beck’s internet news, The Blaze. A woman “pastor” (immediately a violation of Scripture) wrote a snide comment on her dinner bill: “I give God 10% - why do you get 18?” (This was an instance of a mandatory gratuity for a large party.) There are several thoughts I have:
1. She is not mandated to give God 10% of anything. And she also should not be broadcasting what she does give.
2. If this “pastor” wants to play games of tithing, the 10% is on her income - but the 18% is based only on her dinner bill.
3. The waitress did not make the policy - why humiliate her?
4. If you have enough money to go out to dinner, you certainly have enough to pay a decent tip to people who are working hard for less than minimum wage, hoping their tips will help them to make a decent living.
5. What sort of behavior is this for any Christian, let alone a “pastor”?!
The “pastor” then defended herself by pointing out that she did leave the tip - as if that excuses the behavior.
Christians should set an example in public and not disgrace the name of Christ. I have in the past gone out with a particular family; the wife and girls wore head-coverings and they made it well known to the waitress that we were all Christians. But their behavior was an embarrassment to me and my wife, as they were condescending to the waitress and treated her like a lowly slave. Of course my wife and I were kind to the waitress and hoped she wouldn’t think all Christians behaved as that family. As we were leaving I noticed that the other couple left a $2 tip for a bill that had to be close to $80. I was appalled, and found an excuse to go back to the table and added an appropriate amount to their tip so the waitress wouldn’t get stiffed. This is the incident I remembered as I read the story about this “pastor.”
(For those not informed, a normal tip is 15%, and if you had really good service it is customary to give 20%. If you can afford to eat out, you can afford an appropriate tip.)
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must remember that we are ambassadors for Christ, and as such we should do our best to represent Him in all of our activities. This means treating everyone fairly, and that includes the person who is serving you at a restaurant. If your service was poor, there may have been an underlying reason, so be gracious and merciful and give a tip anyway, and perhaps a kind note which says you recognized distress and will pray for them. You may never know what a blessing you brought to them.
9 comments:
Great points. That story was disgusting on many levels. Didn't know until now that it was a female "pastor!"
When I read that story I was so incensed. What also ticked me off was that the waitress ended up being fired. I understand she showed poor judgment by posting it as a bit of humor, but I think a reprimand would have been enough.
What was funny about the article was when I read it to my wife she immediately brought up the incident which came to MY mind!
I once read that if you want to show grace, tip generously; tip generously for BAD service...and recall the grace God has shown to you.
I agree with everything you wrote. However, I feel like the whole idea of having to tip waiters was a bad idea from the start, and some people do get understandably bothered by it. Waiters should get paid a regular wage. They shouldn't have to rely on social customs, like the one you included in parentheses, to make sure they get paid. All it does is stir up guilt, resentment, economic inefficiency, etc.
Drew,
It shouldn't stir up anything in the particular diner other than petitioning the law to be changed.
Without the laws changing nationwide, there is nothing we can do but accept the custom.
I've NEVER had feelings of guilt, resentment, etc when providing tips.
Glenn, absolutely right. Until the practice changes, servers rely on tips to make a living.
However, I'm not angry that she was fired. It would have been totally acceptable to give the false pastoress's words and name, but to show the receipt, including the amount she spent, was unethical and a violation of privacy. It makes the customer vulnerable to forgers by showing her signature. It was completely inappropriate.
Does the false pastoress bear some responsibility for the server's loss of employment? Well, she put a stumblingblock in her way, but the server did what she did on her own. Plenty of guilt to go around.
My only real problem with your original post, though, is the title implies that the false pastoress is a Christian. We only have two data points (her childish behaviour, her usurpation of a Biblical role), and so while she may just be an untaught and horribly immature Christian, I wouldn't want to imply she is one.
Great post. This is mind of Christ thinking, to bless, to pray for human weakness and failure (for poor service).
Syd
Jon,
I disagree that what the waitress did was a firing offense. It showed poor judgment, but apparently she had no idea it would go beyond her immediate post. I worked as a supervisor for almost 11 years and am quite familiar with actions which should or should not be a firing offense. It may be subjective, but I would have given her a severe reprimand to serve as a warning. A first-time infraction of this nature I don't believe was worth firing over. But that really isn't the point of the article I wrote, which was why I didn't mention her in the article.
As for whether or not the "pastor" is a Christian, there was nothing in the article to say she wasn't. If you consider bad behavior indicative of one being unsaved, then everyone is unsaved because all of us are guilty of bad behavior at some time or another.
As for her usurpation of a Biblical role, even that doesn't indicate she isn't saved. I have known many solid Christian women over the years who don't agree that what Paul teaches means a woman can't be an elder or pastor. Not understanding something in Scripture does not affect one's salvation.
Whether or not she is saved, I will leave that to God because he knows the heart. The point is that she claimed to be a Christian and brought shame to the name.
Glenn, I guess we'll disagree on the firing. If I were in the area, I'd be wanting to help her find work, but I still think it was a firing offence.
I would certainly not say the false pastoress isn't a Christian -- but neither would I want to even get close to implying she is. Too much reason to doubt it.
In substance, your article is spot on.
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