The next time you go to a restaurant, remember this: A big tip may be the only kindness a person shows a waiter all day. So don't be cheap! Be generous!!!
I’ve worked my way up from tipping the bare minimum to tipping at least 50% of the bill. Now, it’s taken me a very, VERY LONG time to get there. Still, imagine what a waiter would do, say or feel if I tipped 100% of the bill?!
Generosity is good for your health!
The other day I was at work when my wife called me to tell me that my daughter, Hannah, had set up a lemonade stand in front of our house. So I walked home and asked her how much for a cup: one dollar. So I paid her two. Not only did I get a FULL cup, but I got a hug AND a kiss! Now that’s worth more than two dollars!
While I made her day, she really made mine.
How far are you willing to walk?
Across the street? A few blocks? The point is that no distance should be too great for our generosity to travel. When that waiter brings your bill, can you cross the distance of bad service and tip like they were the best you’ve ever had? When your son or daughter ask you to watch, can you put on hold whatever you’re doing? When that friend or stranger asks you for help, do you go above and beyond? When you cross the distance and give (help, serve, listen, talk etc.), your heart won’t hold it against you.
How much are you willing to pay?
How much value do you place on others? Jesus washed his disciple’s feet. Is our church willing to wash the feet of a city? Is a husband willing to wash the dishes for his wife? Is he willing to get dirty with his kids? While the price of serving others is never free to us - it will cost us strength, emotion, time, resources - the reward will far outweigh that cost.
How close are you willing to get?
Close enough to notice? To be generous requires of us to pay attention to others. Of course you notice everything the waiter does wrong, but do you notice everything done right? At home, do you take the time both to observe what your spouse or children do and to praise them for it? Practicing generosity takes diligence and patience. It doesn’t happen automatically or by accident. Generosity says something specific about a person. And in order for that to occur, you and I have to get close enough to notice. When I tasted and told Hannah how good the lemonade was that she had made, I think it meant as much to her as the money she had received, if not more.
Today, how far are you willing to walk, how much are you willing to pay, and how close are you willing to get?
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4)
Recent Comments