The Wrong Reasons
Someone left a very interesting comment on a previous entry. They essentially asked if doing the right thing was still right if it is done for the wrong reasons. I can't claim to be all wise, but I have an opinion.
My son has a natural desire to do whatever he wants, right or wrong. I believe he knows the difference without me telling him. Often when I catch him doing something he shouldn't, he is looking around to see if anyone is looking... guilty conscience, I guess. Anyway, I have set up a set of consequences that my child will face if he does certain things that are wrong. You could argue that the only reason why my son behaves is because of the consequences he will face if he does not. That is true, but eventually he will do the right thing habitually. He will see that more good comes from consistently making right choices rather than wrong. So the short answer is that it is best to do the right thing no matter what the motivation is... in my opinion.
The person commenting also made mention of something like "the happiness you deserve" as a motivation to do right. I understand the premise of the question to be an underlying desire to receive the credit I deserve for doing the right thing. I believe that I am not promised happiness and that the only thing I deserve is condemnation. It is a tenet of my faith that helps me to remember that every gift and blessing comes from my Creator and I can take no credit for it.
My son has a natural desire to do whatever he wants, right or wrong. I believe he knows the difference without me telling him. Often when I catch him doing something he shouldn't, he is looking around to see if anyone is looking... guilty conscience, I guess. Anyway, I have set up a set of consequences that my child will face if he does certain things that are wrong. You could argue that the only reason why my son behaves is because of the consequences he will face if he does not. That is true, but eventually he will do the right thing habitually. He will see that more good comes from consistently making right choices rather than wrong. So the short answer is that it is best to do the right thing no matter what the motivation is... in my opinion.
The person commenting also made mention of something like "the happiness you deserve" as a motivation to do right. I understand the premise of the question to be an underlying desire to receive the credit I deserve for doing the right thing. I believe that I am not promised happiness and that the only thing I deserve is condemnation. It is a tenet of my faith that helps me to remember that every gift and blessing comes from my Creator and I can take no credit for it.
posted by Mat... the uncreative engineer | 7:09 AM
1 Comments:
Hmmm. So much to consider here. I am gradually becoming more and more aware of the innate selfishness of all consious beings (God included). We all have a selfish motive - whether it is to gain personal wealth or relish in the success of our children or to once again be united in fellowship with our creation. This being the case, I think it can be deduced (C. S. Lewis confirms with his piano analogy) that just about every instinct is right at some times and wrong at other times. It is the job of consious beings to discern which instinct should be followed, or which action should be taken at a given moment.
So, in short - I would disagree that doing the "right" thing is not necessarily always right. We must learn to understand our intent and our motive behind all of our actions.
For example, as a member of the military, I may come across a moment when it is my duty to take another man's life. Now, killing someone is not a "good" thing, however the intent serves a greater purpose, maybe even a righteous purpose, by taking their life - whether it be for self-defense or preventing an impending malicious action. Under this context, it would be wrong of me to not kill that individual - so long as it is keeping with the mission and the aforementioned intent.
Now, if I taught my children that killing was always wrong - they may get the wrong impression. I would have only exposed them to one effect of frequent bad intentions without expressing that at times, there is good intent to kill.
This is what makes humans distinct - and further helps prove God's existence. No other animal has a consiousness of their own sin and the objective moral law such that sometimes "instinct" is ignored for a greater good.
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