by: Rachel Neumeister

I had an experience the other night that got me thinking about money and how generous (or lack thereof) we are with it.  Of course this issue comes up in the church more often than we feel comfortable with, mostly in reference to tithing. 
I would like to come at it from a different perspective.  As a waitress, I see a lot of generous people, and a lot of those on the opposite end: extremely stingy. 
The said story occurred last Sunday night when my parents and I ate out.  You see, there is a certain respect between waitresses in that when we eat out, we tip well.  As my parents were paying, they left a $3 tip, but I doubled it only to get raised eyebrows from my parents.  As I am currently on a no-spending kick in order to save for Australia, I thought I would clarify by saying, “What am I going to do with $3?  She can use it just as much as I could”.  My father responded by saying “Take it to Australia with you.”  I would like to suggest that a toonie and a loonie is not going to do much for a $2K plane ticket, or for a $50 motel stay.
Being on the receiving end of a $6 tip feels good, while being on the giving end doesn’t feel like much.  Why not make someone’s day, if it’s as simple as that?  In my experience as a waitress, it is most often those who come in and drink the night away that are the most generous, as opposed to the families and couples coming for lunch after a Sunday morning service.  Strange, isn’t it?  Will that extra few bucks really mean that much if you keep it instead of giving it away?