Since the internet still buzzes over a Christian who can’t tip, I thought I might offer a bit of humor. We don’t seem to be in a “generous” mood, so I want to lighten it up.

There was a businesswoman working in downtown Minneapolis walking from her bus stop to her work one day when she encountered a homeless man on the street. She usually just walked by people like that, but this time she was overcome by compassion. She reached into her bag and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. She handed it to the man sitting on the street and said, “Never despair. Never despair.”

She felt better about her life and went on her way.

The next day she was on her way to work and saw the homeless man again. He saw her and leaped up to come toward her. She was afraid she had created a problem and now he would expect something from her every day. She quickened her pace to get by him, but he came up to her quickly. To avoid him, she ran across the street. He chased her, yelling, “Lady! Stop!”

As she was getting to her building, she decided to stop and confront the man. She turned around, but before she could say anything to him, he reached out a hand to her, took his other hand, grabbed her hand, and slapped two fifty dollar bills into her hand.

Startled, she asked, “What’s this?”

“Lady,” he said, “Never Despair came in at 100 to 1!”