A selfless good deed - is there such a thing?

Question

I'm feeling very sociable this week, so I'm going to respond to and rate all of your answers, if possible.

Ps. 10pt for the answer I like best.

In doing a good deed - doesn't that feeling you get afterward - the feeling that you've helped somebody or made a difference or whatever, doesn't that constitute as personal gain?

To those who believe in God, Heaven, Karma, whatever: Am I right in saying that anything you do in this life will be rewarded in the next life, or in this, or in Heaven, etc? If this is true, then no good deed is selfless.
Discuss!

Answer 1

Let me say this about that: How can the fulfilling of two beings needs be selfish when it is all in the line of good-fellowship.
ok.....I am disabled with a terminal illness (no boo hooing please)...I have cleared my mind and ready to get on living. I am going to begin volunteering at the local humane society by taking a dog at a time and socializing with it. Am I being selfish? What am I expecting except for the dog to maybe get adopted. I have no hidden agendas in hopes of a plaque or pic in the paper, or any such thing. While fulfilling the need to social dogs for adoption I am fulfilling many lonely useless hours. Selfish? If you think so then all right ... but , in my selfishness I am doing no one any harm and only helping the dog to maybe have a future in a permanent home. I say that in some selfless situations - the good out-weighs the selfishness! You don't have to agree with me or disagree with me; that's what is so great about life in these United States. Free will and free offerings. Am I writing this to just get 10 points? What would ten points do for me in my life? Give the points to the person that was most negative in their response for they need good will in their life more than I do.

Answer 2

Sure there is such a thing as a selfless good deed. To me, it means do something nice for a fellow human being without any expectation of reward or recognition. As an unintentional byproduct, the performer of a selfless good deed is often rewarded with a good feeling and good karma.

Some other similar expressions are: "commit a random act of kindness" and "do a good deed and don't get caught".

Answer 3

Affirmative.

Helping a friend in need without expecting anything in return, just because your gut, mind, spirit thinks it is the right thing to do and you genuinely want to assist or ease difficulty or suffering.

If you do good deed to gain brownie points with your church, your other friends, or with god - it is NOT selfless.

Update:

I think feeling happy because the "selfless" deed you did caused the other person to feel happier, or relieved the suffering to the extent it calmed their mood or pain, then this is a positive expression and would be classified I feel as a selfless good deed.

As you say any deed done because individual feels it will help them be rewarded in this or future lives would be questionable that the done deed was or was not in fact selfless.

I can only refer to my first two statements.

I do not go along with never doing any one a good turn just because someone else may think that you are only doing it for personal gain - there is nothing wrong with helping another human trying to BE. If it feels right to help just do it.

Either way I do hope the person in need will get help from one source or another.

This is Yahoo question and answers, not really for discussion - perhaps Forums would be a better place if you would like to further discuss this topic.

Answer 4

I don't think there is a selfless good deed. Even if you did something charitable that nobody else would know about you would still get the benefit of feeling warm that you have done something good.

I've thought about this many times but I think deep down, we get a kick out of helping others and feeling useful.

Plus it's kind of like an insurance policy - you then feel you have the right to hope someone would do the same for you should the situation be reversed.

Answer 5

To do a real good deed you must first have no self gratification from it Thus the thought of if I do this God will smile down on me or grant be blessings. If your doing it just the for the sake of wishful awards, then it is not a good deed , but the self serving deed. I believe there are many who unselfishly do good deeds, the police, fire fighters who went into tower 1 on 911. The person who saves another from a burning building, any heroic act. The men and women who serve our country in times of war and times of peace. Many more examples can be added.

Answer 6

Yes there are many selfless good deeds. Recent news story of RAC man stripping off to his undies to rescue stranded motorists in flood. There could not be any underlying "personal gain" for this one. Plenty of example of good samaritans who have helped others and walked off without telling anyone who they were.
Perhaps the most selfless act of recent time is the photo of the mother running towards the tsunami wave to reach her children. They all survived, but I feel that many people would have carried out selfless acts that never were reported during that awful time.

Humans have a great capacity for compassion, and it is this spirit that drive many to selfless acts - even at the cost of their own lives.

Try the Victoria Cross Society site which lists the citations for bravery, though I admit these are in "unusual" circumstances, they illustrate the point nicely.

Answer 7

yeah! of course there is such a thing as a selfless good deed. Basically anything you do for another that :

1. You dont need to be recognised for doing
2. You dont want any thank you's ect...
3. You do without thinking about consequences for yourself
4. You do because you care
5. You want to help others less fortunate or just help others in
times of need/trouble.
6. You do because you are a caring person
7. You do for others even when your soo tired you just want to
go to bed

awww you sound lovely!!! xx

Answer 8

I like the feelling of doing something good for someone. It costs nothing (usually) and for a split second you can see it in their face that this thing is being done for them because someone truly cares. It's wonderful and the feeling never really goes away, it's selfish in a way, but when you think about it you get a warm glow and that in turn makes you feel good. Is it totally selfless? Probably not because you get something back, but hey nobodys perfect. Be happy!

Answer 9

i like 2 do a selfless good deed at least once a week makes me feel good 4 hours

Answer 10

Yes there is......i was driving home one night from work, and i drove past the place that i used to work at. An old co-worker of mine and I would follow each other home if it was bad out. So i saw someone outside their car and looking at their windshield. I pulled into the parking lot and i told her to follow me home, because her windshield wipers were not working. I was not expecting anything back i was concerned because it was bad out side.