Seth Udinski, FISM News
Last week, a grateful Pennsylvania waitress detailed a generous tip she received from a patron as part of what is being called “Tips for Jesus.”
Mariana Lambert, a waitress at the Scranton-based Alfredo’s Pizza Cafe, reportedly served a customer who ordered a $13 Stromboli last month. When he paid for the meal and gave her a tip upon completion, she was floored to find that he had given her $3,000.
Many waiters and waitresses are paid well-below minimum wage with the assumption that their tips will cover the difference. As such, for waitresses like Ms. Lambert, tips are vital to her livelihood. She was astonished when she received one that was worth roughly 230 times the amount paid for the meal.
Lambert said, “It really meant a lot to me because everyone’s going through stuff. It really touched my heart. I still can’t believe it. I’m still in shock…We ran his card, and everything went through. We took his ID and took pictures of everything. They waited a little bit to make sure it was legit and went through, and it ended up being real.”
The movement is not limited to Pennsylvania. The Christian Post reported that in Arizona back in 2015, a bartender named Clint Spotleson received $11,000 from two separate orders that totaled only $419.
The movement, which has gained popularity on social media, reportedly started back in 2013 when an anonymous and generous donor wanted to bring happiness to restaurant staff members who served him.
Despite the donor’s assertion that “Tips for Jesus” is not overtly Christian, the act of self-sacrificial giving for a stranger is at the core of the gospel, which teaches that Christ was exceedingly generous to sinners who could not be generous in return.
The donor spoke of the movement’s goal, saying, “It’s just about helping people out. It’s not hard to give back, to tip a little extra, pay for someone else’s drink, engage in small acts of kindness, even if it’s at a level somewhere below tens of thousands of dollars. When justified by great service, magnanimous gratuities are achievable by everyone, no excuses.”