An Ann Landers column some years ago had a letter from a man who identified himself as a Christian and then described how he handled tipping when he ate out. Instead of leaving any money for the server, he left a gospel tract, figuring that the best “tip” he could give was to tell the server about Christ.

Ann Landers’ branded him as a self–centered cheapskate. And the responses from her readers published subsequently agreed. While many of us don’t care for the tipping system, the fact is that people who wait tables, clean motel rooms, drive taxis and so on are often struggling to get by. Like the system or not, when we tip, at least some of the time, we are actually helping the poor.

In any case, we suspect the message the servers were actually getting from this man had little to do with the Jesus.