Starbucks Treat
On 14 July 2011 this year there’s lots of buzz about Jonathan’s Starbucks Card. If you haven’t heard about it, He is giving FREE STARBUCKS for everyone, he deposited 300 USD to his card. You can see the details and how to use it in his website.
Too sad it can only be applied in US 
as other countries may not support the payment system using image from Starbucks card.
Here’s how it goes, he load a balance to his Starbucks prepaid card, you can use his card to pay your coffee, if you feel want to help someone else and give him/her a coffee, you top up his card so other can use it as well. No obligation for you to top up. Sounds like music isn’t it?
In this tough times, with high unemployment rate, high inflation, low wage, giving is a big deal.
Do you still remember Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you
Or Malachi 3:10
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it
Well, may be not. In this tough times, who still care about giving? Nothing’s good will come from it. The bible was written long time ago, it’s obsolete. Is it?
Let me continue about the Starbucks treat I mentioned earlier. It’s a social experiment about how people behave about giving.
The result:
Strangers chose to collectively contribute thousands of dollars to help out someone else
Mashable, a reputable tech blog write something about this (as of 11-August-2011):
Stark launched Jonathan’s Card on July 14. At the time, he says he was unaware that others could add money to the card. The initial idea was to fund the card, then put it online and watch the balance fall, a process that Stark says he found “fun.”
….
Stark says the card has received a total of $8,700 in donations — including his $300 — so far. The card’s balance has been upped more than 500 times and it’s been withdrawn close to 900 times
Amazing isn’t it? This experiment is one of great wake up call about giving. The count of withdrawal is more than the deposit, yet the amount is increasing!
Last update: After 1 month and the popularity spread, someone hack his Starbucks card, transfer the amount to another Starbucks card, sell it on E-bay. The hacker said that the collected money is intended for charity. Now the buzz is over, people raise their voice and ask for Jonathan’s card to be blocked so no one can misused it despite the motive is for charity.
Regardless what happens with Jonathan’s card, you may say it’s crazy to give, yet real case scenario prove you wrong. When you give to the Lord, God Himself will prove it to you.
