is it ultimately for personal gain? 'YOU feel better about yourself', 'so that YOU can get in to heaven', 'so that other people will be nice to YOU in return'?
2007-03-13 09:51:01 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Yeah. Nothing wrong with personal gain though, and you can make the other person feel good in the process, too. :)
2007-03-13 09:53:59 · answer #1 · answered by swordarkeereon 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It would be exhausting to always have to be on full alert, never able to trust anyone around you, so our earliest motivation for being nice is an enticement for other people to be nice in return. It's part of the unwritten social contract that holds society together. As we grow older and more philosophical about how we treat one another, though, I think compassion and empathy become greater motivators, especially when we encounter people who are in pain or sad. I'm a person; you're a person. I know how you feel because I've felt that way, too, or I can at least imagine how it feels. It makes sense for me to treat others with the same respect with which I would like to be treated.
We care about people's feelings because we're human. Heaven has nothing to do with it for me.
2007-03-13 09:56:08 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't think people are nice today I think people act nice but they no what they really think so if they lie about it and they don't feel guilty. Unless they feel guilty because they want to kill the person on the inside but are nice to them so you wont go balistic on them. Also you don't feel better about yourself because you're not being nice you're lying. And people you're "nice" to always back-stabb you so there is actually no point in being nice because you'll get hurt in the end. And as for heaven it's all in perspective of what you believe.
2007-03-15 07:19:00 · answer #3 · answered by Team Potter(screw Twilight)<3 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some people might see it that way, but some people are genuinely kind-hearted and WANT to do it because they don't want to see other people struggling or going through a rough time.
Why do people console others when a loved one of theirs passes away? It's because they sympathize with them and understand what they're going through and they just don't want to see them hurting anymore. So they give them a kind word not to feel better about themselves, but to make the other person feel better.
But sometimes I agree with you. I think there are people who will be nice to others because they think they will get rewarded in the end for doing good deeds.
2007-03-13 09:56:51 · answer #4 · answered by fragileglimpse 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I treat people like I would want to be treated and while christians may take this teaching as their own, it was around long before them.
Plato, who existed 500 years before Jesus and his Golden Rule said to "be good because it's good to be good". Makes me think Jesus read Plato
The bottom lines is if I want to be treated with respect I need to do the same thing for others - or else be really, really rich
Now if someone is a d*ck to me, that's a whole other story
2007-03-13 09:54:47 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I treat people nicely because I care about their welfare, not because I want a reward. I try to bring a little sunshine into everyone's day. It doesn't cost you anything to put others first.
2007-03-13 10:21:31 · answer #6 · answered by Freedom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't hurt to be nice ...to people that treat you with respect. Being "nice" is the most important thing because it helps you communicate better with people. i don't mean that you should be nice to everyone; don't be nice to those that take advantage of your kindness and those who want to step all over you. there is a limit to everything
2007-03-13 10:03:42 · answer #7 · answered by Ally cat 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You make a fair point, but Im nice to people so they feel good, I have no reason not to be nice to them, and I dont care about getting into heaven coz I dont believe in it anyway!
2007-03-13 09:57:28 · answer #8 · answered by Girl 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Well, I don't believe in heaven or any of that bs. But yeah I do feel nice when treating people fairly. Call me egotistical ;)
2007-03-13 09:56:27 · answer #9 · answered by Fastforward 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It beats being an @$$ to people, that's for sure.
I believe that you reap what you sow, so my reasons for being nice are motivated by legitimate self interest, since I am purposefully setting an example by treating others the way that I hope to be treated myself.
2007-03-13 10:02:40 · answer #10 · answered by Randy G 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋