Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
"Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
That one is from the Bible :
“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
While you might or might not believe in God, you will probably see some truth in this idea. Imagine you saw a man giving out to charity, and then immediately telling it to anyone he would encounter. What would you think ?
Well, you would probably think : “This man gave to charity so that he would be viewed upon nicely by others”. Thus, it diminishes the value of the deed itself. He does not give to charity because he has a selfless and generous heart. Quite the opposite, he is actually obsessed with himself and what people would think of him.
Recently, I heard about some guy arguing that you don’t care if people act good deeds for selfish reasons. It’s still better than people who don’t do anything. I strongly disagree with this vision.
Imagine if everyone started donating to charity just so that other people congratulate them. It would work at first, but as time would pass, it would become absolutely normal to donate. Then you would no longer get praise for doing it. And what would happen if the praise stopped ? No one would donate anymore.
This way of thinking is pure utilitarianism.
Utilitarianism
It basically is a way of thinking. It assumes that if the consequences of an action are positive, then you should go for it. Your decisions should be based solely on their consequences. In other words, the value of anything is purely based on its utility.
It is in stark opposition with moral codes, that are often rule-based.
The first issue with utilitarianism is you assume you are smart enough to predict the consequences of your actions. With all due respect : you’re probably not. It is impossible to count how many times men have unintentionally created disasters with decisions meant to actually solve a problem. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
The second issue is that it nullifies the value of the most beautiful thing in this world : doing a thing as an end of itself. It is perfectly useless that our eyes would allow us to see up to the stars (Shepherds and sailors excluded…). Yet, what a tragedy it would be if we could no longer stargaze.
An utilitarianist world is hell to me.
It is deprived of meaning, sacredness or moral. It is also what threw so many people into the modern work trap, a trap where true meaning does not exist, or is, at the very least, dramatically undervalued.
Life or survival
Back when we humans were living in the wild, we had to make every move count. It had to be worth the energy. Everything would need to have utility.
In the age of abundance we currently live in, the challenge isn’t to survive anymore. We all have so many (too many ?) options of things to do with our lives. Finding meaningful options out of all the ones available, such is the real struggle.
Of course, our actions’ utility still matters. But to me, the more utlity-based our life is, the closer we get to prehistoric humans, to whom only survival mattered. The more we seek meaning, the more we elevate ourselves. The more we take distance from beasts, and the closer we get to Human’s divine side.
That side being : doing things as an end of itself. Doing something just because it means something to you, without expecting anything in return. Even if it serves no practical purpose, even if it is out of the actions we are hardwired to perform. This is free will. And this is the only reason we could think ourselves different from animals.
Remove these free-will based actions, and we’re nothing but animals.
By the way, these actions are also the ones that forge your personality. Everyone sleep. Everyone eats. But how many people take art classes just because they enjoy it ? How many people grow their own plants, just for the sake of it ? How many people become excellent chess players ?
Relinquishing your free-will equals being anyone. Embracing it is becoming someone.
Do it for you
My advice is you make your own path in this world. A path made of meaningful self-driven actions. Don’t seek recognition or approval. Be capable of walking alone, walking your own and very personal path.
Don’t succumb to utilitarianism. Avoid the so trendy and pervasive virtue signalling. Next time you donate, keep it for yourself, make it your secret, and learn to appreciate your own approval, more than the others’.
Paul
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