Okay, I’ll bet you are waiting to see how this one turns out, right? I mean, what do restaurants with automatic tipping have to do with the Bible?
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
Let’s start by reviewing what Yeshua said in Luke 17:7-11 (CJB):
If one of you has a slave tending the sheep or plowing, when he comes back from the field, will you say to him, ‘Come along now, sit down and eat’? No, you’ll say, ‘Get my supper ready, dress for work, and serve me until I have finished eating and drinking; after that, you may eat and drink.’ Does he thank the slave because he did what he was told to do? No! It’s the same with you — when you have done everything you were told to do, you should be saying, ‘We’re just ordinary slaves, we have only done our duty.
Let’s first talk about the slave thing- if you recall, and even if you don’t, in the Gospel of John, in Romans, and in 1 Peter we are told that everyone is a slave to that which controls them. So, we might be a slave to sin, a slave to obedience, or a slave to Facebook…but we are always a slave to something.
The ideal thing is to be a slave to God. (DUH!)
We’re getting closer to the automatic tipping part of this message.
By the way, when I talk about obedience I do not mean obeying a religion but obeying what God said we should do, how to worship him and how to treat each other, and that is found only in the Torah. That obedience is not something that we get extra credit for- it is what we are expected to do. There is no “tip” for resting on the Shabbat, no “tip” for fasting on Yom Kippur, and no “tip” for loving your neighbor.
No! That is the minimum required.
Now let’s get to automatic tipping: one of the real problems in America today, as I see it, is that people in a service industry, such as a waiter in a restaurant or a steward on a cruise ship, are being given tips automatically. The bill comes and there is a 17% tip automatically charged to you (sometimes it’s called something else, but it is a tip), and they still have a space under the subtotal for you to add another tip!
Why is that a problem, you may ask? I’ll tell you why- it supports the selfish and lazy attitude people have because they feel they are entitled.
C’mon, tell me that you don’t think many of today’s youth think they are entitled. They expect their school loans to be paid for, they expect to work hours convenient for them, they expect raise at work for just showing up! When people are expecting to automatically get a reward, where is their motivation to give the best service they can?
In my experience I have found that when you have people working together, and the ones who do the least get the same rewards as the ones who do their best, guess who changes their attitude?
When I was an Executive Officer in the United States Marine Corps, I was transferred to a company whose morale was so low you could walk on it without having to get on your tip-toes! I spent a month or so punishing those who were lazy and not doing what they were supposed to do, and the morale increased tremendously.
Most Christians are taught that because Yeshua served God, they don’t have to! The idea of following all those rules and regulations in the Torah are not for Christians because when you believe in Jesus, you get an automatic tip called salvation, no matter how good or bad your service is.
Sorry, Folks, but salvation is not automatic, forgiveness is not automatic, and when you just do what you want to do you are a slave only to yourself.
But to be saved you must be a slave to God!
So, from this point on, please review your service to God and make sure that you are doing what you are supposed to do without expecting any special treatment in heaven or here on earth. Remember how Yeshua often said that those who seek their reward from men will get only that?
Too many have been taught to expect a lot from God only because they believe in Yeshua, but that won’t get you anywhere. Remember, every demon in hell believes in Yeshua! What you need to do is to faithfully believe Yeshua is the Messiah, and because of that (not in spite of it) obey God, which is demonstrated by your good works.
I can tell you that when I face God at his Throne of Judgement, all I want to hear is “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I don’t need anything more than that because I know when I do what is right in God’s eyes, that is what I am SUPPOSED to do!
But it isn’t all bad news: just like servers who do exceptionally well get a larger tip, according to Deuteronomy 28, when we serve Adonai as best as we can we receive blessings, which is God’s way of giving us a tip.
Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!