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Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
Originally posted by Jordan River
Well now since you confessed of saying that you did indeed do something charitable, doesn't that go against the principal.
Originally posted by Screwed
reply to post by LesMisanthrope
I have often thought about this very thing.
Good for you for recognising it.
I give NO ONE credit for ANYTHING that they announce they did.
(good deeds that is).
It immediately tarnishes and corrupts whatever was being done no matter HOW important or helpful.
I personally believe that for every "good deed" we do, we have a choice.
Recieve your payment NOW in the form of ego gratification
or let Karma take care of you and recieve a much larger reward later on, not necessarily after you die either.
If you are at all familiar with the law of attraction then this should make some sense to you.
Originally posted by Screwed
reply to post by LesMisanthrope
It depends.
If you are doing the act for the sole purpose of recieving reward then yes.
If you are doing the act because it needs to be done,
If you are doing it out of compassion,
if your intentions are pure,
then you can also know, as a secondary effect, you will also, at some point in the future, reap your karmic reward.
If this doesn't make sense to you then I am afraid I am not going to be able to convince you otherwise.
Originally posted by AdamsMurmur
I prefer to be anonymous anyway, but you know, sometimes people want to know who it was that helped them, and you making yourself known (at least privately, which is how I'd do it if anything) would actually be another selfless act in their eyes. The whole point is how other feels when you take self out of the picture, right? Although I see self being separate from other as a delusion.
'Lend nothing at interest' is something I tend to go by.
They say of some of those who donate and what not, that they only do so to make themselves feel better. A 'pat yourself on the back and be on your merry way' sort of thing. Well, that's one perspective and is as valid as any other, but the whole point of charity is helping. As long as someone feels helped, charity happened. We just like to look for faults in any action done, vanity is one such perceived 'fault' that is seen as nullifying an act towards someone else since the lender got something obvious in return for his action, self-pride.
"You only helped us because you were feeling guilty and it was making you feel bad." It's still empathy though... but even empathy can be spun around to look wrong. Anything can be spun around to appear wrong. Does it really matter how someone feels? Let them feel it. The only problems are the ones we create.edit on 5/10/12 by AdamsMurmur because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by Screwed
reply to post by LesMisanthrope
So awesome that you posted this topic.
I'll take it a step further and really blow your mind and take you into my twisted reality.
When/if I do a "good deed" (not that I ever have :lol I refuse to let myself think about it or take ANY satisfaction in it because I don't want to feed my ego. It is a nasty little creature and if it gets fed too often it gets fat and happy and pretty powerful I might add.
So, I fight back the "self congratulatory" feeling and refuse to feel good about it.
A job well done is a job well done.
No need to pat yourself on the back and go to bed at night thinking what a great person you are.