There is no un-selfish act
All religions teach (brainwash?) their followers to be “unselfish”. Christians are taught that by doing things for others they are storing up treasures in heaven. The Wiccans believe that any unselfish act will be returned three times over. Islam teaches that performing an act of unselfishness will be praised by Allah in the “record books” as many as 700 times!
It begs the question: Why does your God have to barter with you to get you to do good? And more importantly, doesn’t the knowledge that you will be rewarded for your “good deed”, by nature, make it cease to be an “unselfish act”?
It’s one of the logical paradoxes that really breaks down the foundation of religion as we know it. It’s a universal truth that is brilliant in its simplicity. It’s quite simple: there is no unselfish act.
If, and when, you give money or food to a homeless person, why did you do it? Yes, because that person was hungry, I know. But why does that matter to you? The truth is, you feel bad that the person is hungry, and giving something to them makes you feel better.
And likewise, when you stop on the way home to get flowers or a card or some little gift to bring home to the one you love, why did you do that? Yes, I know, you did it to make them happy. But why? Because it makes you feel good to make them feel good.
Do it in your head. Work the math. Pick any act that you commonly think of as “unselfish” and trace back through the motivation. In the end, it’s easy to see that everything we do is self-serving.
