Christians should be the best tippers. After all, they know that God has promised to take care of all their physical and emotional needs (reread the Sermon on the Mount, we would call it Sermon on a hill, but apparently one of the disciples was a pr guy), therefore they should not be too attached to their money and should be quite generous.

Christians should be the best tippers, but they’re not, and they have a reputation that precedes them.

For many “church folk”, every Sunday right after church is the time for the weekly brunch ritual. It’s not quite as meaningful as communion, but it’s probably a close second, depending on “the special”. One time I asked a waitress friend about the “after church” crowd. She said, in her words, “Christians are the worst tippers.” Period. She said the staff would see them coming and all try to avoid having to be the one to get stuck serving them because, in her words, “You work your butt off, they aren’t very nice, they are very demanding, and they don’t tip.”

I confess, I’ve been there. I have been in a group and not paid attention to the tip situation, maybe threw in a buck or two and slipped out, unnoticed. I didn’t think about how the waitress might feel ripped off, or worse how she might have gotten a really bad impression of Jesus, based on His cheap friends. It’s easy to take the low road, especially when it comes to money. Money makes people weird, and selfish. I didn’t have to teach my boys how to say, “MINE!”

By the way, speaking of Christians and tipping, there is an evangelistic tool actually in print which is a fake $5 bill that looks pretty accurate on one side, but on the other side it says, “Were you fooled? Satan fools you too!” Then it goes on to explain how whoever found the fake $5 bill should consider trusting Jesus. The idea is to leave this as a tip, in order to “reach” the waitress for Christ. I’m pretty sure she will be open Jesus after she stops cussing about the jerk who left the fake $5 bill. We Christians usually mean well, but we sometimes don’t think things through.

Back to tipping. if we’re honest, some of us flake out big time when it comes to tipping. We throw in a buck as an appreciation for services rendered….to me! If I liked the atmosphere, if the waitress was cute and nice, if the food was superior, if my date was cool and everything went right….(notice how many outs you have!)…then, if anything doesn’t go perfect we feel justified in withholding the tip, “I’m not paying for THIS! (whatever this is). “After all, I’m already paying “top dollar” for this meal, tipping is extra.”

Where I’m going with this is…there is a fundamental problem if Christians continue this unfortunate “tipping” mentality when it comes to supporting the local church.

“The sermon was good (short), here’s a buck.” “The guy was funny.” (extra buck for funny) The music, the atmosphere, the coffee, the snacks, did people say “Hi” to me?, were MY needs met?...all these things can affect the amount of the tip. I’m not bagging on people who have an opinion about the church, that’s ok. What we need to ask ourselves is this, what is the proper mindset regarding giving? What does God want from me?

We can learn a lot by looking at how Jesus dealt with people about money. One really interesting story is found in Luke 18:18-24. A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" … You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother." "All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

This man was young and rich and had it going on, kind of like a young buck cool guy who had just started his own internet company. It’s important to know that Jesus had the ability to look into someone’s soul and see what was really driving them. Jesus knew that this young man was “religious” in the sense that he followed the rules, but his true God was MONEY. So Jesus looked into his heart and called his bluff. So this story really isn’t about money, it’s about who is your God. It wouldn’t make sense for everyone to sell everything and give it to the people who didn’t have anything. Then we’d just have a bunch of former homeless guys driving Vipers and acting cool. Jesus knew that this guy’s god was his wealth, and his religious activity was a front. Why don’t we remember that Jesus reads minds? Shoot. So the main point is this, put God first and let Him call the shots, whether it’s money, relationships, work, etc.

Here are some keys to think about when it comes to giving.

1) Heart and Treasure: Where your treasure is, that’s where your heart and thoughts will be. If we rely solely on our 401K for our security we’re missing the boat. We should store up treasure in heaven in the form of acts of service for others (Luke 12:22-34). In the Kingdom we play by different rules….give without expecting return, and let God do the books.

2) Giving money is an act of faith to God and commitment to the church: God wants us to trust Him with every part of our life (especially our finances), and we believe He will bless us as we exercise faith. The Bible encourages followers of Jesus to give to the local church. Paul told the church at Corinth, “Remember this- a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” (2 Cor. 9:6,7)

Note: The Old Testament law of tithing is not a requirement for salvation (salvation is through faith in Jesus alone), however, many people have found that giving 10% has been helpful as a guideline.

3) Giving AWAY vs. giving TO: It’s not giving money away, it’s giving money to support God’s work in the real world. Real expenses, real salaries, real gas, water, electric, rent, cups, plates, diapers, toys, and all the day to day stuff that must be purchased in order to have a place to gather.

Many people simply haven’t thought about “How does a church actually work?” Some think that church just happens. Or, that money just magically appears to cover all the expenses. (that would be cool) Or, there must be a “sugar daddy” behind the scenes who covers all the costs. Not so. God is using Existence people to bless Existence Church…it’s quite amazing when you think about it.

4) Giving Back: It’s all God’s money, on loan to us. We are simply giving back a small portion of what God gave us first.

Real-life illustration:

The other day we were at the mall. Ben (our 16 year old) had gotten a Banana Cream Pie Blizzard from Dairy Queen. He offered me some along with some serious hyperbole. Oh my, who needs crack?! Seeing my obvious glee, Ben asked, “Do want me to buy you one?” Here’s the point. The money Ben was using had come originally from Leigh or me. You know, a ten here, a twenty there. I still appreciated the offer, and I took him up on it, but here’s the question… was Ben really using “his own money”, or was he “giving back” a little of the money we had already given him. In a small way, that’s how giving in church should be, giving back to God a small portion of what He has given to us.

We’re in this together.

Blessings,
Gerry Limpic

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