here's a tip

The last night we were in Nicaragua, we had the opportunity to eat at a restaurant. They were taking us to a local chicken place. It was supposed to be really good. There was only one problem. When we got to the chicken place, there was a Papa John's right next door. We rallied the American majority and began making a plea for some good ol' American pizza. We were ready for mutiny if need be... (Let's just say I was getting a sock ready to be loaded with nickels if persuasion and begging didn't work.)

Everyone was cool with pizza. We ordered and it was stinkin' awesome. There was about 18 of us so when the bill came, I was expecting it to be rather large. Pizza was a lot cheaper in Nicaragua than here in the states. I was also surprised to see that the "tip" was not automatically included since we had such a large party.

I factored in the standard 15% tip and then decided that since it was less than we originally thought we could give the waitress a little extra. We gave about 25% tip. I don't say that to brag, I say that to let you know that the waitress was brought to tears when she saw how much we left her. I guess the standard tip in Nicaragua is 10% and the hourly wages are pathetic.

I was told by our translator that the tip we gave was probably equal to about a weeks worth of her normal salary (Then I was nearly crying). It was so sad to see that the adults and the children live in such poverty. That woman worked her tail off and did a great job. She gave better service than a lot of American waitresses and to think she did it while expecting a lot less.

My point: she gave her all without expecting anything in return. Most of the time we give based on what we want out of it. We give only to get. We want something in return for our kindness. We need to give just because it is the right thing to do, not to get something back.

We made sure to tell our waitress that we were showing God's love by blessing her. Who knows, that may have been what she needed to help her develop a relationship with Christ.

What does your giving say about you. Are you generous or cheap (don't even try calling it "thrifty" or "conservative".)