When Garret Wayman, a hard-working server in Wichita, Kansas, saw that his customer left a $20 tip tucked under a ketchup bottle on the table, he could hardly believe it. Naturally, the young server who is a senior in high school was excited!
But when Wayman looked a little closer, he realized it was something very different.
The [$20] bill left as a tip was really a gospel tract disguised as money. The pamphlet read, “Don’t be fooled. There is something you can have more value than money.”
Unfortunately, these fake $20 tips have been circulating for quite some time and giving Christians a bad name.
The server was understandably angry at being duped. He said he doesn’t mind if people leave Bible pamphlets, but that people “don’t work for fun.”
Candace Bure, co-host of “The View,” chimed in and said, “You have to put something with it. That is like the worst representation of a Christian that you could do.”
“I was just taken aback because I don’t know if you’ve ever been a server, but whenever you see a $20 tip it’s a big deal,” Wayman shared.
“He just left that,” the teen continued. “I wanted to tell him that I only make $3 an hour and bust my [butt] at my job to make way less than I deserve, but he was gone by the time I had the chance to.”
But one restaurant manager in Dish Plaza Midwood wasn’t going to let it slide by so easy when a similar incident occurred with one of her employees.
Penny Craver says one of her servers was incredibly upset after getting one of these Bible tracts from a customer with a tip less than 8[percent]. But instead of just getting mad, she decided to do something about it by looking up the church name listed on the fake $20.
Then she wrote an email to their pastor, which read in part:
“Pastor Simmons:
I am the general manager of Dish (restaurant) in Plaza Midwood. Imagine one of my server’s surprise when she received a small pamphlet (Every one of us will face eternity one day) instead of a tip when she served what I assume was one of your congregation. Her particular religious beliefs are not discussed at work; however, I do know that this pamphlet can not pay her mortgage or her electric bill. It concerns me that someone would consider a pamphlet fair monetary exchange. Suppose your congregation felt it was sufficient to tithe their personal writings instead of 10 [percent] of their income. Your church wouldn’t be paying their bills for very long. I think it would be great if you used this in a sermon.”
And it seems as though her words have resonated. Simmons says he has talked to the congregant since and assures it won’t happen again. Craver sincerely hopes so, as she has experienced this several times with other employees in the past few months.
Of course, it’s not the pastor’s fault that this happened, but kudos to him for taking ownership and leading his congregation in what evangelism is truly about.
Christianity is about making connections with people for the cause of Jesus — not leaving a piece of paper in lieu of money for the benefit of our own pocketbooks. Let’s be exemplary Christians who are kind and tip generously.
I pray as a Church, we strive to take care of the physical as well as spiritual needs, just as Jesus did.
