Is there such thing as a truly selfless act of charity?

Question

We FEEL good when we do good, to help others, charity etc...

Is there something charitable we can do that will help others but not have the rewards of us "feeling good about ourselves"

This reminds me of the episode of 'Friends' where Phoebe searches for this act of selfless kindness as well(anyone remember when they were at the telethon?)_

The closest I can think of is the pain of giving birth, but once that's over we feel a sense of fulfillment so that's an emotional benefit....I'm certain there has to be but my mind is drawing a blank

Please don't misinterpret this question to mean giving to charity is selfish in the sense no one should do it, as that is utterly ludicrous, i hope everyone understands that is not the gist of the question. thanks

Answer 1

Understood perfectly, Hope.
Excellent question.

As long as our motivation to do something charitable is NOT to make ourselves feel good, I think its all good. Perhaps its something God implanted in our genes or something... that when we help a fellow human, we get the warm fuzzies.

Interesting idea, ain't it? :)

warm fuzzies your way!

Answer 2

You're right in looking at the "why". Why did I give the money? Why did I help that old lady. But I think you might be doing it in the wrong order. If see an old lady struggling to cross a busy street and your thought is "I'm going to help her so I feel good" then that is not a selfless act. But if you help her because if her dilema, then that it a selfless act. You don't know if you feel good afterward. I once went into a restaraunt, by myself for dinner. A mom walked in with four children to celebrate a birthday for one of the boys (these were all children under 10). They were all excited and having a great time. I'm not saying that they didn't have alot of money but they were not dressed in expensive clothes and the mother ordered very little for herself. I left before they did and I paid for their meal. I didn't do it to feel good, I did it because that mother would have a little cash that she didn't think she would. I made sure the waitress didn't tell them their meal was paid for until I was gone and I actually felt a little embarassed when the waitress started telling be what a good thing I'd done. I didn't do it for my own self-gratification.

Answer 3

You would have to come from an emotionless point of yourself - a completely neutral - void. However, if you lacked emotion I don't believe you would have the capacity to perform acts of charity. Since charity/love is born from emotion. Well at least this is what I think. Good luck in finding the answer.

ADDED: However, what if your INTIAL reaction was to do something to the benefit of another and you acted on it - right there and then. That could almost be considered like a selfless act of charity. I have done this. I didn't get warm and happy fuzzies what I did was ponder if she would pass on the thing I did for her to another that she may encounter in life in the same situation (as she had once been in) - looking at it from present, future, past events perspective. Then I started to see our "vibrations" being put out there and it continues to live out itself in other(s) lives. And then I got all "wooooow" and cosmic goofy thinking about it. And I honestly did this in my mind without the assistance of any illegal substances because I really don't like to pollute my body like that. :-)

Answer 4

I admit that I had to have a deep think about this question before answering since this is a question that requires you to think deeply.

Anyway, Yes I have helped people in life where I didn't mind if I didn't get a thank you straight away because I think doing an act of kindness is a rewarding enough uplifting act of the spirit.

I hope I made sense there lol.

Answer 5

Yes, sometimes--but *very* rarely.

If a person dies while doing the act of charity--(such as in childbirth as you mentioned above)--

And if the act started out (like Phoebe's) as a completely selfless act--

And if the person died before feeling any nice warm fuzzies because of the act--in other words, they only felt the sacrifice...

Then, it would be a truly selfless act of charity.

LOL! That's a lot of "IFs" isn't it? ;-) Thus, true acts of charity by humanity are not very likely.

As for the rest of the answer... Destined to Win is right. Jesus lived a perfect life, but willingly died, laying down His life for each and every one of us--(even if we don't believe He did) not because He had too, but because He was obeying the Father's will and wanted to reconcile us with God the Father.

His death was the perfect sacrifice--the one and only truly selfless act of charity that we *know* was indeed an act of charity. :-)
.

Answer 6

An truly selfless act of sacrifice can only be seen at war or some huge natural catastrophe...there are people capable of sacrifice; if one sacrifices his life so others could survive, that is the ultimate act of selflessness

Answer 7

A young man from my home town of Milledgeville, Georgia peacefully stood up against a bunch of fraternity ruffians who were constantly harassing elderly people. He was assaulted on the street one night by drunken fraternity boys that he had met with just days before when he asked them to be good neighbors. They killed his cat and threatened his children. He kept insisting the boys be good neighbors even though he did not live near them or have relatives nearby. He actually liked college students very much and thought it was important that if no one else would, that he would try to help them be better citizens. He became so despised by the college that he was threatened with criminal trespass which ended his college career. The college eventually drove him away even though he has a beautiful federal home near the campus.

Answer 8

I think there is, I know I have done things out of selflessness without wanting a reward or knowing the person will return the favor.

Answer 9

My husband and I give to several charities each month. We have it taken right out of our bank account.
I think that is as selfless as you can get.
It really does not even cross our mind until we see it taken automatically out of our account.
It really takes no effort on our part.
Technically, It seems pretty selfless.

Answer 10

If one has unconditional love in their hearts, an act of charity is selfless.