The Most Generous People on Earth

We can recognize that what we possess actually are possessed by God, who is the giver of all gifts - if we view our resources as belonging to God, then we surrender the use of those resources to Him and allow Him to direct us in how they are spent, invested, or otherwise appropriated:
9Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;10So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.

This certainly deals with honoring God with the firstfruits, which I believe would include the tithe from our income.   But, verse 9 also says that we are to honor Him with our possessions, inferring that we honor Him will all that we have.   If we do not cling to tightly to what we think we own, then we will be more generous with those possessions - God will give us clear insight into what we should have, how much, and how much we should give away and bless others.   If we are seeking first His kingdom and have generous hearts, then we can be convinced that He will provide for our needs and He will bless us for our obedience.  As our financial resources increase, we may have even more to bless even more.

The apostle Paul commented strongly and effectively on the subject of generosity in 2nd Corinthians 9, reminding us that God supplies the resources to be generous:
8And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.9As it is written: "He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever."10Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,

Well, the person or persons involved in the @TipsForJesus movement hit the Big Apple last weekend.   For several months, there have been instances of tips being given in the name of the Lord in places from South Bend, Indiana, to Chicago, to Utah and even Hollywood.

For instance over the weekend, according to The Blaze website, a $3,500 tip was left on a $391.95 bill at the Smith near Lincoln Center, and $7,000 was tipped on a bill of just under $3,000 at the NoMad in Midtown."

One of the early appearances included 2 tips of just of $5,000 each in South Bend - those were thought to be fraudulent, but a credit card statement was posted on the @TipsForJesus Instagram account to attempt to underscore the legitimacy.   The Instragram account is continuously documenting these escapades, including images of receipts from each good deed and some of the elated faces of individuals receiving these gifts.

A mission statement is present on the account: “Doing the Lord’s work, one tip at a time.”

On the signature line of many receipts, the words “Tip For Jesus” are often written or are stamped somewhere on the receipt.

The Blaze, quoting a New York Post story, reports that the perpetrator of this movement is Jack Selby, the former vice president of PayPal.  

Aruj Dhawan, a waiter at Bo’s Kitchen in New York City, told the Post that Selby and two other customers gave him a $1,000 tip on a $111.05 bill.

The manager of Bo’s Kitchen, Benjamin Cramer, said Selby told him they tip extravagantly “just because.” He also revealed “we tip a hundred times the bill.”

There has been previous speculation that Selby, who made millions after the sale of PayPal to eBay, was behind “Tips for Jesus.”

Now, I'm not sure what the motives or the beliefs of the people are who are doing this - after all, there did seem to be exorbitant consumption of food and alcoholic beverages in at least some of the instances.   But, these are certainly charitable acts that have blessed a number of people who work in food service.

I think this tipping spree can even be used as some inspiration for each of us.   One takeaway is that because of what Jesus has done for us, our nature is generosity.  And, we are taught to act in generosity - to give of ourselves, to give from the heart, as an act of worship to the God who gave His Son for us.   Our resources belong to Him, because we are His, so our possessions are to be used in the way He directs.

A practical takeaway is that we can look for ways to bless the people who serve us.  People who deal with customers in restaurants, retail stores, and in other service professions deserve to be treated with friendliness and with a spirit of courtesy.   And, just by smiling, maybe even engaging in a personal conversation, where appropriate, we can make a small impact on a person's day and even help build them up.   I know there are some people who will offer to pray for a waiter or waitress - or an idea is to ask them to join in as they pray before their meal at a restaurant.    We behave consistently with the character of Christ when we are looking beyond ourselves and seeing the people who serve us through his eyes.

Finally, we have to realize that we do not exhibit the character or generosity of Christ when we tip in a less-than-appropriate manner.   A church group that comes to a restaurant after church and leaves a small tip does not help the reputation of the church or of Christians.   So, we look for ways to bless others as God gives the opportunity, realizing that we are not our own.