Surely doing good deeds is better if you DON'T believe you'll get rewarded in an afterlife?

Answer 1

Yes, I agree. That's what *I* call unconditional love.
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Answer 2

Very much so.

You're doing the right thing because you really think it needs doing, not because some Freudian daddy-in-the-sky is threatening you with what he'll do to you in some afterlife!

I've helped fill sandbags during floodtime, had my elderly neighbors over when the power went out from a hurricane (I have a generator), coached Little League, and worked at less than the going salary for a program to train blind vets for jobs in civilian life.

The good feelings I got were plenty of reward. And yes, we ARE social animals - it also feels good to be THOUGHT OF as good by your fellow human beings.

But I'm an atheist - I don't need to pretend that Big Daddy will reward me in "heaven."

Answer 3

Well, then the tendency might be to do just "good" deeds and not extraordinary ones.

Say I was with the people giving hurricane relief after Katrina. If I believed that the more good I did in this life the more rewards I'd get in the afterlife, I would've pushed myself much further.

For example, if someone's cat were stuck on the chimney of a house in the middle of the sewage-infested flood zone, I'd look for a dinghy and go get the cat. If I were a nonbeliever approaching this situation, I might just call it in to fire rescue and head back to base camp after an exhausting day.

Sure, if a God does exist then my applying psychology to this may be moot, but all else being equal, a belief in a greater reward would definitely motivate me to do more.

Answer 4

Good deeds motivated by seeking rewards for those deeds is not love and therfore against the two great commandments that Jesus gave to us.

We should be doing good deeds for others because we want to be a part of the love that God has for us. We love others because by loving others we can better approeciate and participate in the life that god has given us.

Answer 5

Christians believe this about our good deeds...they stored up as treasures in heaven. When we are judged, Christ will take all of those treasures and refine them in fire (just like a jeweler refines gold in a fire). The impurities (deeds done with a selfish motive or an unwilling heart) will be burned away and only those treasures earned with a pure heart will be left. Then, guess what we do with those treasures that are left...we give them to Jesus to show our appreciation for what He did for us. So, we don't do good deeds to receive rewards, we do good deeds to show Jesus our love and appreciation for Him. Is it really a reward if you don't get to keep it? AND our works are an outward expression of our faith and do not earn us a spot in heaven, only salvation can do that.

Answer 6

Of course. To give and ask for nothing in return, whether it be in the afterlife or from the party you are doing the good deed for.

Answer 7

Most Christians believe the only requirement to enter heaven is to believe in and accept Christ as your savior. Doing "good" is just a matter of following his teachings - not something you do to earn a reward.

Interestingly in Judaism is the concept of "mitzvah" which is a kindness or help you do but don't let others know you have done. It is between you and God but gives you no reward.

There are those that argue that there isn't really such a thing as "altruism". If you do something good for someone else you do it because of how it makes YOU feel therefore isn't really "selfless".

Answer 8

When I do my good deed-- the "afterlife" doesn't come into thought--
I am a bit selfish- I like the immediate reward of seeing a smile on ones face when you do something so unexpected.. Gives me the warm fuzzies.... but that's just me.......

Answer 9

You should do good deeds because you feel like it or have the need to, not because you feel you''ll get rewarded later. The best reward is the feeling you get after you do it.

Answer 10

Well, that puts a human spin on a spiritual subject. You see, heaven is not a reward for good deeds. Heaven - salvation - is the free gift from God to undeserving sinners of His choosing. Good works are the product of this gift, not the justification for it. We mean that you cannot earn heaven, or win it, or ever deserve it. God's grace, His mercy to His chosen elect, is its only source.

Answer 11

.....You make it sound that our only reason for doing good deeds has to do with the afterlife.

.....We would be poorly motivated if the only reason we did good was to secure an afterlife that has already been promised to those who believe in Jesus and His Father in heaven.

.....I don't think that is the motivation of Christians who do good. They, by and large, do good because something that happened in them when they accepted Jesus as their
Savior prompts them to do good things.

.....No one can understand this unless they have been touched by God and become a new person with a new nature.

.....Those things that we used to do for self-gratification we no longer care to do; and those things that we never did for the benefit of others, we find ourselves being highly motivated to do.

.....So we give people thumbs downs these days because we do not agree with their motivation in life, even though we know nothing about that persons motivations except what they have shared with us.

.....Maybe if you went to http://www.kingdom-principles.org you would learn more of my true motivation.

grace2u