Some years ago I read about the "Worst Food In Oregon" restaurant. The owners said they served the "worst food you ever ate, and the service is even worse."

Actually, the food was good, diners were served generous portions, and the prices were reasonable. The name was just a clever gimmick. It was the idea of the owner, who figured he might get more attention by calling his food "the worst."

His strategy worked. Customers who came the first time out of curiosity soon came back for more.

This creative business tactic reminds me of religious practice described by the apostle Paul in the second chapter of his letter to the Colossians. He warned his readers not to be deceived by false teachers who appeared to be very religious and very humble but who were really satisfying their own desires by calling attention to themselves. Such persons go to great lengths to advertise their unworthiness. Yet, from God's point of view, their actions are merely a coverup for pride and self-promotion.

Let's make sure that our humility and self-denial are motivated by submission to Christ rather than a self-made strategy for personal profit.  — Mart De Haan