Doing Things for the Right Reasons

Western culture is extremely individualistic. Everything is about the self. Even books about living “the good life” are generally in the category of self­-help, or personal-development. We have put ourselves in the middle of the universe and everything is about “me.”

Famous psychologist Carl Rogers created his theories on the premise that all people have an individual potential that can only be reached when the voices of others are essentially blocked out. When others get in the way, or when we are bogged down by values of others, it pushes us off the path to our “self-actualization”; which is how we obtain self-love and reach our happiest and highest potential. All truth is found within each person. Therefore, no one can or should infringe on someone else’s values or beliefs. After all, we all have our own journey, and no one should get in the way of that.

From this self-centered perspective, all truth is relative. Additionally, all things and all people are a means to fulfill our own ends. Relationships, people, jobs, everything, even marriage is for the purpose of fulfilling individual wants and needs to provide for our happiness. All things were created for me. All people are here to help me get to where I’m going. Most people actually view marriage this way. Often, people view God and living the gospel this way. We follow the commandments because we want the blessings; or because we want eternal life. We make God a means to our ends.

When we see God or others from this perspective, it is impossible not to have a skewed perception of them. We can't look at others as they really are; we are only looking at them from an economic standpoint, viewing them as objects to be manipulated rather than people. From this perspective, God is like our employer rather than our loving Father; we are trying to figure out what we need to do in order to get from Him what we want. When the rewards don’t come from living certain commandments, we call to question their validity.

There is a hierarchy of motivations that when understood can change our perspective on gospel living and being a Christian. People who obey commandments in order to avoid punishment or to obtain rewards are focused on themselves. They are making God the means to their self-centered ends. Beyond these two motivations is that of duty. These people live the commandments regardless of punishment and reward; but live the way they do because they feel it is their duty with no one really in mind. However, there is a higher and nobler way of living the gospel that allows one to put God before them: Love.

The highest motivation one can have for living the gospel is out of a love for God. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22: 37-40). It is only in loving God that we become the means to His ends.

            Emmanuel Levinas speaks about how we all have an "infinite obligation to the Other." In other words, we are all infinitely obligated to others regardless of what we get out of it. Nothing Christ did was for Himself. He did not do what He did out of egoistic motivations. He did what He did out of pure charity, which is the pure love of Christ. Love, like truth, is not something anyone can possess. Rather, love and truth possess all those who are the true followers of Christ (Moroni 7: 44-48). Those who follow Christ seek His will out of love, not due to self-interest. Their desire is the welfare of others, not their own. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16: 25).

            How different would the world be if people sought careers with the mindset of providing value to others, rather than thinking about how much they can get? How different would our service to others be if we did it out of love for them and love for God, rather than avoiding punishment or seeking rewards? Like trying to earn wealth in the form of our work, are we trying to earn heaven and God's rewards in the form of our service?