Reddit user thedivinegemini recently shared a situation from their restaurant in the Bible Belt. They noted in their post on Reddit, “I’m a GM at a restaurant & one of our managers left a note on our manager logs this afternoon that a guest walked out on their check and left this in lieu of payment of any kind. Not that the server got stiffed on a tip – just pure theft of services. I guess the whole “Thou shalt not steal” thing doesn’t matter if you’ve been pre-forgiven. Pretty convenient.” The Tennessee-based manager came with receipts, literally, as the guest left behind a piece of paper designed to look like one. It bears the title “JESUS PAID IT ALL” and lists various abstract concepts as paid items, including “Sin, Shame & Regret, Lies & Deceit, Immorality, Unbelief & doubt, Pride & Envy, Anger & Hate.” The total listed at the bottom is 0.00, with a note stating, “PAID IN FULL ON THE CROSS.” The ‘receipt’ further asks, “Do you want to be free from sin and it’s consequences? Turn to Jesus and accept the payment He has made on your behalf.” They also included the actual bill for the meal, which included a mocktail called the Pineapple Express and an order of hummus, came out to exactly $16.49. The system recorded the bill as a “Walk Out” with a note reading, “JESUS PAID BILL.” It adds a layer of irony that the server for the table is named Christian. A situation that demands human retribution This kind of behavior is not just frustrating for the staff, but it also crosses into clear legal territory. According to LegalFix, most states have specific statutes often called “defrauding an innkeeper” that make it a criminal offense to obtain food or other accommodations with the intent not to pay. The law generally views a refusal to pay for services as evidence of fraudulent intent. Depending on the state, this can be prosecuted as either a misdemeanor or a felony, and it can carry penalties ranging from fines to jail time. In lieu of payment.. byu/thedivinegemini inmildlyinfuriating In Tennessee, the site noted that the law is quite clear. Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-14-105, it is illegal to obtain services like food or lodging with the intent not to pay. The consequences for this can be serious, including potential imprisonment. Additionally, Tennessee Code Annotated § 50-2-110 reportedly prohibits employers from making deductions from an employee’s wages for unpaid customer tabs unless the employee provides written consent. However, because Tennessee is an at-will employment state, the reality of the industry is that staff are often vulnerable to termination for incidents that are entirely out of their control. Thankfully for Christian, the redditor has no intention to let this slide. When one user asked, “Please tell me you’re slapping them with a lifetime ban. Lol.”, the original poster responded, “Oh baby, I will be going to the police tomorrow. 4th of July weekend in a tourist town tells me they’ll be here for the weekend. Let them face earthly justice.” When another User mentioned, “The server not getting a tip is worse than the business not getting paid,” the manager replied, “Agreed. He will be given the tip he was owed. I came to GM from being a server and my empathy is not lost.” The community overall found the situation hypocritical. One user remarked, “Divine dine and dash,” while another quipped, “the definition of using the lords name in vain…” Someone else joked, “Jesus, take the meal,” and another added, “Did Jesus pay sales tax though”. There is also a strong sentiment that this behavior is disrespectful to the server. The manager ended their post by highlighting their frustration, stating, “This is what it feels like to work in a restaurant these days – especially in the Bible Belt.” The commenters agreed, with on user weighing in on a potential consequence, “People that do this should be banned from all restaurants for life.” Another summarized a key thought, “This is not what followers of Christ do.” This particular advocate of divine payment isn’t the only person to dine and dash this month. In North Carolina, a man witnessed a new way to dine and dash when the customers allegedly engineered a situation to get kicked out and “Executed this to PERFECTION.” In Australia, a steakhouse took to social media to shame a customer for dodging the bill by allegedly using his armpit hair to contaminate the meal.