Altruism?

If you're a reader of my blog, you probably know by now that service is something I care a lot about. I believe that I have been called to leave what I touch better than I found it, and I believe that I was created - actually, that we were all created - to serve others in some capacity. And there are SO many cool things that people are doing in this world to help make it better using their gifts and blessings. That's obvious, as it's what I most often write about. That excites me and I think it deserves to be shared.

Lately, though, I've had many conversations and thought a lot about why we serve. Is it for our own benefit? For the benefit of others? If there is some good in it for us, does that negate the good we’re doing for the people benefiting from the service? Take for example companies that are centered around giving… let’s take one I’ve blogged about… TOMS shoes. A friend asked me not long ago if the founder of TOMS, Blake Mycoskie, is a humanitarian or a business man. I said both. He asked if it’s possible to be both at once. I said yes… he countered that while Blake is doing great things for people, he’s simply a brilliant business man who is making more revenue because of the fact that he’s helping people. So… if Blake is making money, does that mean he’s not a humanitarian? Do you have to give up monetary success, comforts, etc. to be a humanitarian? If you’re reaping some benefit, monetary, emotional, social or otherwise, are you still “serving”?

Altruism:
a concern or regard for the needs of others, entirely without ulterior motive.

Is that possible? Can we really do anything without ulterior motives? When we serve others, even when it takes sacrifice, is it out of pure concern for their needs, or do we always have ulterior motives? Furthermore, if people benefit, do our motives matter?

The truth is... I don’t really know.

Here's what I do know:

• I believe in a God who has called us to love others as we love ourselves, and to be servants to them.
• I have a heart that aches and is burdened by the state of our world and by the people who are hurting in it.
• I am constantly aware that I am by far among the wealthy elite compared to the rest of the world, and I am often sickened that I do not do near enough about it.

But is my heartache over people in need and the resulting tug to do something about it actually selfish deep down? I don’t know… I hope not, but to be honest, it’s definitely possible. The truth is, I know my heart, and I know that simply because I’m human I’m sinful. But luckily, I believe in a God who redeems and forgives and changes me through knowing and experiencing Him. My model for not only service, but for how I want to live and who I want to become is Christ. I pray every day that I would be made more into His likeness. The fact of the matter is Jesus Christ lived a life - and died a death - that was about everyone but himself. And so I believe that serving others is one of the best ways that we can be made more like Him. He commanded us to serve. And so I think when we serve others in obedience to Him, we are changed through that experience, and our wickedness is slowly melted and replaced by the same love He has for us.

I also know that regardless of our motives or of how we benefit from results of service - whether that be feeling good about what we did, being recognized for our work, or reaping financial gain - the bottom line is, when we take action, people's lives are better. Period.

So... let's do some good, huh?

P.S. It was really hard to condense what I wrote into what is above. I've got so many other thoughts about this swirling around in my brain, and lots of them are conflicting. What are your thoughts? Please share!