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The Twenty Dollar Tip
In Acts 20 we see Paul state...
I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support
the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It
is more blessed to give than to receive. –Acts 20:35
"It is more blessed to give than to
receive." Have you ever meditated on that
statement? Often when it is stated, one is attempting to show
another that giving has a higher spiritual value than receiving.
However, the first part of the verse says that the giver is more blessed
for giving. How is that? How is one more blessed? Let
us take a look. Notice a commentary...
Acts 20:35
[It is more blessed to give] It is a
higher privilege; it tends more to the happiness of the individual and
of the world. The giver is more blessed or happy than the receiver. This
appears:
(1) Because it is a condition for which we should be thankful when we
are in a situation to promote the happiness of others.
(2) Because it tends to promote the happiness of the benefactor himself.
There is pleasure in the act of giving when it is done with pure
motives. It promotes our own peace; is followed by happiness in the
recollection of it; and will be followed by happiness forever. That is
the most truly happy man who is most benevolent. –(from
Barnes' Notes)
We are blessed in at least four areas:
1) We are thankful for being in a situation in which we CAN give.
2) It promotes inner peace.
3) There is happiness in the recollection of the specific act of giving
you performed.
4) The promise that our giving will be followed by eternal happiness.
I get excited just pondering that list of blessings, especially number
three, the recollection of the act. Let me share with you now,
just one example of how this blessing of recollection works. I
call it the "Twenty Dollar Tip".
Several years ago my wife, Joan and I began a tradition. If, when
eating in a restaurant, we observed a waiter or waitress going above and
beyond the call of duty and/or demonstrating an excellence in their
work, we would call them to our table, inform them of what we had
observed in their work and then present them with a twenty dollar bill
with our thanks. As time went on, this tradition expanded to more
than just restaurant wait staff. Joan and I began this tradition
with the giving of ten dollar bills, but as time went on we increased it
to twenty. Here are some recollections...
Recollection 1: Joan and I were on
our way to Ocean Shores on the Washington coast to celebrate a wedding
anniversary, and stopped at a Denny's restaurant for lunch along the
way. The restaurant was packed, with hardly a table unoccupied.
Despite the crowd, our waitress was rushing non-stop to insure all her
tables were getting her frequent attention. She was doing a great
job. Even after the numbers thinned out, she continued at the same
pace. As we got up to leave, we took her aside and acknowledged to
her that we knew that it was a busy day. We then complimented her
on her performance and handed her a ten dollar bill. She stopped,
took a long sigh and thanked us, telling us just how much this meant to
her. We had smiles on our faces as we went out to the car and
proceeded on our way.
Recollection 2: I was
vacationing at Lake Tahoe in 2004 with a friend from San Francisco.
One evening, we selected a coffee shop at a resort hotel at the south
end of the lake. We were escorted to our table by a thin,
grey-haired lady, who must have been in her late 60's or early 70s.
As we sat eating, I watched her walking back and forth with new
individuals to their tables. She was very friendly and gracious.
When we finished, we stood just outside the entrance and I told my
friend that I just had to do something. We stepped back into the
coffee shop and got the lady's attention. We showed our
appreciation for her friendliness and for doing such a good job and gave
her a ten dollar bill. She thanked us and then asked, "Can I give
you a hug?" I will never forget her.
Recollection 3: I was with my
daughter, Jody and her husband David when we pulled up to a rather
popular hamburger stand in north Seattle. They are famous for
their deluxe burgers and homemade fries. The stand had huge plate
glass windows beginning waist-high and going up 7 or 8 feet.
People ate in their cars. As I ate my lunch, I took notice of the
young college student in charge of fries. The reason she caught my
eye was due to the fact I once had the same job as a high school
student. I was amazed at her multitasking, as she performed not
only her duties with the fries but made sure the ice troughs were fully
packed with ice and that all supply points were well filled. When
I got out of the car to put my trash in the container, I reached into my
wallet and took out a twenty-dollar bill and approached the order window
just as she walked by. "Are you the fry lady?" I asked.
"Yes I am," she replied. "Well, the first job I ever had coming
out of high school was the exact same job you have. I was sitting
in my car and noticed that you do excellent work so this is for you."
I then passed her the money. I am sure that made her day.
Recollection 4...a Two-fer.
I was traveling home from the Feast in Tyler with David and Marilyn
Bryner and Lois Chapman when we all stopped for the night in Wichita
Falls. As we all got rooms at the Super 8 motel, we were
conversing with the young lady at the desk and she informed us that not
only would she be checking us in, but would be around to see us off in
the morning. "Wow," I said, "So you are stuck having to work all
night huh?" She answered, "yes" after which I asked her about a
nearby place to eat. She said there was a Denny's just down the
street. We had met up with another couple on the way home from the
Feast, Dev and Carol Jensen. We all proceeded to the Denny's and
parked in a lot that was well below the actual restaurant. We had
to ascend a set of stairs to get to the front door. As it
turned out, this particular Denny's just didn't have that good of food
though we had an outstanding waitress. We actually commented among
ourselves later that it was sad that she was so diligent in her work and
the food was not all that great. She was so friendly, we invited
her to sit with us for a few moments and talk. We left our normal
tips on the table but as we left, I took her aside and gave her a
twenty-dollar bill. She was beside herself with appreciation.
As we all got down the stairs to the parking lot and standing around
saying our good-nights, I glanced up to the restaurant and standing
there in a huge plate-glass window was our waitress, smiling and waving
down to us.
The next morning I met Lois in the lobby as we went back and forth
taking luggage to the car. Sure enough, there was our lady at the
lobby desk ready to check us out. As I was signing my credit card
receipt, I asked her, "You ARE getting overtime for doing this aren't
you?" "Oh no," she replied. I could not believe it. I
would have none of that and reached in my wallet for another twenty and
insisted she take it for staying up all night on the double shift.
She was overwhelmed. As Lois and I made our final trip to the car,
I exclaimed to her, "We gotta get out of this town; I am running out of
twenties! (smile)"
These are just some of the many recollections I have. It IS more
blessed to give than to receive. Those tens and twenties are long
spent now by those individuals, but the memories of having given them
will be with me forever and bring me great joy.
The most exciting thing about this is that you can make up your own
tradition of giving. It doesn't have to be restaurant wait staff.
It might be the idea of slipping some money to a widow at the Feast,
volunteering to work in a soup kitchen or seeing to the needs of someone
right there in your own congregation. The benefits and blessings
will be the same.
Start your own list of Recollections!!
Listen to or view sermonette on this
subject [same title]:
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