Big Tipper

What a great story:

Actually, the total payment was $1,000 — $26.35 for the meal and $973.65 for the tip. This is a 3,695% tip!

Gifts like this are touching. When one person's definition of pocket change is different from another's by a few zeroes, it tends to make a difference in both people's lives when a gift is given. What was one person's shopping outing was another's paycheck for two weeks (or maybe even more). In this case, the waitress has a good start for her unborn child, and the patron had the pleasure of making that happen.

I don't seem to hear many of these kind of one-to-one acts of generosity. There's a lot of generosity, true, especially through last year's record hurricane season. But I suppose that whether the acts of generosity are too “commonplace” to make national news, or unusual enough to make national news, as in this case, really doesn't matter. For Christians (like myself, and presumably like Ms. Dogan, the generous customer) it's about giving cheerfully and giving to the extent that God has prospered us:

“I didn't need it. It helped someone who … needed it. God put us there together. God answered my questions.”

Cheerfully-given gifts like these, without any expectation of return — not even a deduction from the IRS! — are sometimes the way God handles His finances. And He also uses profits, interest, salaries, and dividends, too!

Have you been the recipient of a generous, out-of-the-blue gift? What did you make of it?

4 thoughts on “Big Tipper”

Yes, I have. It wasn't from a stranger but it was still completely unexpected. What did I do with it? Honestly, I don't recall. I think I spent some of it, saved some of it and paid of debt with more of it.

I've never been blessed with a gift like that, but I'd rather be the one giving the gift. Not only would I really be helping someone out, but it would also mean I had the means to give such a gift. That would make me really happy!