Be faithful and tip generously
By BRUCE BRADSHAW
Zion Mennonite church
I often have heard the claim that people who attend church do not pay generous tips, especially to the servers in restaurants. The evidence to support this claim seems to be that servers at restaurants receive significantly fewer tips on Sunday afternoons than they do at other times.
On one hand, this claim sounds like an urban legend, a myth that people develop to substantiate an idea, whether or not it is valid. Urban legends provide dubious support for statements that are false or partially true.
On the other hand, the idea that people who go to church regularly are tight wads might be true.
Let's give the truth of this belief some consideration. My initial thought is church-going people are concerned with stewardship, the idea that we should get optimal value for our money, especially if we believe our money is a blessing from God. Tipping does not seem to add value to dining in restaurants anymore more than rising prices of gasoline adds value to our commutes to work.
There also might be a relationship between these two expenses; if I am paying more money for fuel, I will have less money for tips, whether or not I want to be more generous.
While faithful people want to spend money wisely, they might be creating the problem of misplaced stewardship. Effective stewardship is more about spending money in the right places than saving money in every situation. Spending energizes our economy, and some segments of our economy need to be energized more than others do.
The popular book, "Nickled and Dimed," gives some good reasons why the service sectors of our economy, such as restaurants, are among these products and services.
We pay tips to insure prompt service, and we can withhold our tips to the point where we impoverish the people who do these jobs. In doing so, we raise the question of whether effective stewardship means saving a few dollars at the risk of creating or perpetuating cultures of poverty in our communities. I would prefer restaurants in the U.S. join the rest of world and charge their customers for service — or set prices that cover service charges. However, our system to insure prompt service depends on the ability of people to love those who serve them, inviting them to tip generously.
I saw a bumper sticker recently that asked WWJD, what would Jesus do? I think Jesus would have tipped generously, for the sake of effective stewardship.
