Pastor Uses Tithe as Excuse for Not Tipping!
Wow. Just wow. There are no words to describe this photo I came across on Relevant Magazine.
The internet was set ablaze recently as a server posted this picture of a receipt from a self-identified pastor.
It seems the “pastor” was offended that anyone would dare to automatically add an 18% gratuity to his her check. Her reasoning, “I give God 10%. Why do you get 18?” She actually wrote it on the check!
Update: I got some new information, the pastor was a woman not a man. And to be fair she did go on the news and apologize. Apparently, she did leave a cash tip, and was still charged the 18%. Hopefully lesson learned. Thanks Chris!
She then proceeded to scratch out the automatic tip and left… NOTHING!
The worst part… signed, “Pastor ____”
What on earth was this woman hoping to accomplish with her message? Did she really think the server would say, “Oh my goodness, you are right! I am a sinner. Please, pastor, lead me in a prayer of salvation right here on the restaurant floor!”
Is anyone else mad right now? I’m furious!
Somebody needs to smack this lady upside the head with a Large Print King James Bible!
This story hits me hard, because I have been in this server’s shoes before.
My Story
I worked as a server for years to help pay my way through Bible College. I was barely able to support myself and my wife. One bad tip could sink our entire month financially.
Anyone who works as a server knows that the one day you absolutely don’t want to work is Sunday. Why, you might ask? Because Sunday is the day all the “church folk” go out to eat… and leave horrible tips!
Ask any server, they will tell you the same thing.
When I first started at the restaurant and servers told me this, I didn’t believe them. I was studying to be a pastor. Christians are taught to be generous, love people, and help the poor. Surely, Christians would never do such a thing.
I was sadly mistaken.
I cannot count the number of times I had a table of “Christians” that complained were incredibly rude to me and then proceeded to leave a worthless tip. How did I know they were Christians? They would literally write, “God bless!” on top of the receipt!
I wish I was kidding.
I’m glad that I knew then that God does actually bless, because these “Christians” sure didn’t.
I had to constantly apologize to the other servers for my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Many servers would go home crying – worried about paying rent and childcare – all because these Christians didn’t have a generous bone in their body.
You cannot imagine how hard it was to even talk to my coworkers about Jesus, because they were so jaded by bad experiences with Christians.
Enough is Enough
“The world looks at preachers out of church to know what they mean in it.”~Richard Cecil
This has to change! As pastors, we need to set the example.
People are watching what we do outside of the church long before they will care about what we have to say in it!
Even though we might be good at preaching, our actions always speak louder than our words. And we need to do a better job at teaching our people how to leave a generous tip.
Instead of just wishing “God bless,” we need to be that blessing ourselves.
We are supposed to be ambassadors of Christ. We are supposed to be reflections of Jesus. It’s not surprising that many people want nothing to do with the church if this is the kind of reflection we are showing.
It’s near impossible to preach good news when so many of us aren’t good news ourselves.
This was actually a woman preacher in the area where I live! She has since went on almost all news channels and admitted her mistake. BTW…she did still leave a tip on the table and was still deducted from her CC. I agree it was a misrepresentation of Jesus and she now realizes it. We all make some mistakes.
Thanks for the info Chris! I didn’t know that.
Glad to hear that she has apologized. Hopefully we can all learn from this.