SELFISH CHARITY

Can giving to charity be selfish? Here is the question I have: Am I volunteering and giving money to charity to help others or is it to help myself? I try to volunteer with charitable groups as often as I can find the time and have recently increased my financial contributions to charity as well. It makes me feel good and I always learn or have some life-lesson reinforced by doing so. And that leads to the question...Is it possible that I am volunteering for the feeling it gives me rather than the ideal of helping society? Is it selfish? Maybe the intention doesn't matter in this case.

I had an idea for a short screenplay where the main character was a woman that was devoting her life to charity. Then one day some miserable bastard who felt she was "trying to show everyone up" told her that she wasn't doing it with pure intentions. He told her she was doing it for her. The woman goes home and obsesses over the possible truth of this statement and ends up on a downward spiral culminating in her death.

Yes, it's depressing, but I think it brings up an interesting conversation - do intentions ever matter?

I know no one is reading my blog yet (and I'm too scared to let my friends see some of my more intimate thoughts - see post 1) but I would love to hear what others think about this. So don't be shy - post a comment!