Right and wrong
In the last hour of church today I was about to raise my hand to answer a question when the following thought appeared in my mind: Why do you want to answer this question? I took a mental step back and saw that my plan wasn't necessarily for the spiritual edification of those around me, as I'd thought, but rather was for my own vain pride -- to make other people think, "Wow, he's so spiritual and so smart!" It was a humbling realization, to say the least.
And then ten minutes later the class discussion turned toward that very thing: doing the right thing for the wrong reason (primarily about service but it holds true for anything). I think we understand that concept easily enough, but we seem to be blind to it in ourselves. I certainly was.
Now, the purpose of bringing this up is most emphatically not to demean service and good works and any of that. Quite the contrary. I think it's time for a few examples: when we serve someone else, are we doing it because we care for them and want to help, or are we doing it because other people will see us doing it (including the person we're serving) and think, "Oh, he/she must be a good person -- look at them serve"? I doubt that the majority consciously decides the latter, but I suspect it may often pop up subconsciously without our realizing it. Similarly, do we go to church to be close to God and learn more about Him, or do we go for the social aspect ("What would they think of us if we didn't go?" or of course merely to socialize) or out of droned habit or something else?
Again, the fact that we may be doing some of the right things for the wrong reasons does not at all make the right thing wrong. If I can't feel the Spirit while reading the scriptures because I'm trying to fill a quota and don't really care, it does not follow that the scriptures are devoid of the Spirit and that we shouldn't bother reading them.
Enough about the problem; what can we do about it? I don't claim to have all the answers and I hope there can be a discussion about it through the comments. Two things: first, we have to see if it's in us, and recognize it for what it is. That will hopefully lead to a desire to change, to do things for the right reasons. Second, we can ask God to change our hearts, to wipe away the fake architecture we've constructed inside and replace it with a celestial palace, one fit for a King. I'm sure there are other things as well -- the floor is now yours.
And then ten minutes later the class discussion turned toward that very thing: doing the right thing for the wrong reason (primarily about service but it holds true for anything). I think we understand that concept easily enough, but we seem to be blind to it in ourselves. I certainly was.
Now, the purpose of bringing this up is most emphatically not to demean service and good works and any of that. Quite the contrary. I think it's time for a few examples: when we serve someone else, are we doing it because we care for them and want to help, or are we doing it because other people will see us doing it (including the person we're serving) and think, "Oh, he/she must be a good person -- look at them serve"? I doubt that the majority consciously decides the latter, but I suspect it may often pop up subconsciously without our realizing it. Similarly, do we go to church to be close to God and learn more about Him, or do we go for the social aspect ("What would they think of us if we didn't go?" or of course merely to socialize) or out of droned habit or something else?
Again, the fact that we may be doing some of the right things for the wrong reasons does not at all make the right thing wrong. If I can't feel the Spirit while reading the scriptures because I'm trying to fill a quota and don't really care, it does not follow that the scriptures are devoid of the Spirit and that we shouldn't bother reading them.
Enough about the problem; what can we do about it? I don't claim to have all the answers and I hope there can be a discussion about it through the comments. Two things: first, we have to see if it's in us, and recognize it for what it is. That will hopefully lead to a desire to change, to do things for the right reasons. Second, we can ask God to change our hearts, to wipe away the fake architecture we've constructed inside and replace it with a celestial palace, one fit for a King. I'm sure there are other things as well -- the floor is now yours.
posted by Ben at 2:22 PM
2 Comments:
I think you can do something right with the wrong reason. But as the scripture says when you do that you have already got your reward from the world and God is not obligeted to send you his blessing.
In the other hand when you do something right for the right reason you could receive your reward from the world and from God as well.
So I think doing something right for the wrong reason is still better than not doing anything at all. But as President Slater said, the enemy of the good is the best.
True -- and doing it for the wrong reason can lead to doing it for the right reason. It's just that when we know better, we should try to make sure we're doing the things we do for the right reason. (But if we don't know we're doing it for the wrong reason, we can't be held responsible for it.)
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