Dear Christians: Please stop doing this one terrible thing!

Your Christianity should be evident in your behavior.

Dear Christians, please stop doing this one terrible thing to people who serve your food -leaving pamphlets in place of actual tips. A 17-year-old waiter is the latest victim of this social misbehavior, and the deed does nothing to promote the cause of Christianity.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - Garrett Wayman a 17-year-old waiter in Kansas, posted on Twitter how he was left what appeared to be a $20 tip from a diner. The alleged tipper, a Christian man, left the generous tip on the table after being pleasantly served.

For Wayman, who is working to pay for his $7,000 car, and who is only paid $3 per hour, the tip was a providential windfall. Except, when he unfolded the bill and it turned out to be a Christian pamphlet.

"DON'T BE FOOLED!" the pamphlet smugly proclaimed in caps (after cruelly fooling the waiter). "There is something you can have more valuable than money." The pamphlet continued on the inside with a nice message about how Jesus died for our sins and how we can be saved too. There's a standard prayer included which some Christians believe puts a person on the path to salvation once recited.

"Good, now get yourself a Bible and start reading it, beginning with the Book of John," the pamphlet condescendingly instructs.

Wayman took to Twitter to express his upset, "Someone seriously left this as my tip today. Pissed is an understatement. I was so excited when I saw $20."

It should go without saying that if a kid is working, and working hard in particular, giving them a Bible tract in lieu of actual payment, or in this case a customary tip, is a ridiculously unchristian thing to do. It's almost the moral equivalent of distributing Bibles to starving children. It's out of all touch with practical reality, in which we must all live and work. Christians and non-Christians alike have bills to pay too.

Imagine the upset you would feel if someone at your work gave you a pamphlet promoting Islam or atheism instead of a bonus check or expected perk?

It's understandable that we as Christians feel called to share the good news of Christ with others, especially non-believers, but there's a way to do it. Fooling a person with a Bible tract that looks like money is probably a very bad start. People cannot be convinced unless they share high affinity with you. Tricking them, or communicating in a condescending tone, demolishes all affinity. Instead of opening someone's heart to the Christian message, it closes it. Do you really believe that's doing His work?

This kind of behavior might gain a person points with their friends, while saving them a few bucks on tips, but it doesn't gain any souls for Christ. There are no examples in all human history of a server converted on the basis of a fake tip -zero, zip, nada.

If you insist on giving a pamphlet, at least do it with an actual tip attached, preferably one of equal value as what's printed on the pamphlet. That's a much faster way to open a hungry, hardworking person's heart, than to trick them.

The better way to convert people is through the heart, which requires that you demonstrate Christ's unconditional love for all people. For example, kindly treating and tipping a waiter who makes a mistake -what a great example of selflessness, humility and forgiveness! Or perhaps you routinely leave a bigger tip than average. Perhaps you write a kind message on the receipt, next to a tip that will gain attention.

A good Christian does not need to tell others they're Christian. It will be evident by how they treat others. Good people are drawn to fellow good people and that's when it's time to gently proselytize. However, until you have established personal credibility as a loving and generous human being, preferably over an extended period of time, please refrain from stiffing your wait staff. It's making the rest of us Christians look awful to those we'd like to seriously reach someday.

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