Doing good deed, good reward in return?

[killer-curry]

so this is the story about my dad last week,

Spoiler:

So one week ago, me and my family were going out from a store and found an Iphone 6s Plus at the exit area. It was huge and the phone cover was stuffed with contacts. We tried to look around for the phone's owner but no one was there. he phone language was Chinese text, assuming it was a Chinese race owner.

My dad took the phone and went back home while waiting for the owner to call . On the way back, the phone rang up and he picked up the call. It was from the owner and he was in the store that time so my dad quickly drove back to store. He gave back the phone to the right owner and the owner wanted to gave him money.

My dad did not want the money and rejected his offer but the owner still wanted to give him a reward for return. He gave my dad a marble stone which was very shiny and valuable. My dad could not do any rejects as the owner kept pursuing him to keep it.

From this, I learned that good deed sometimes returns in a good reward, but how many people can be like this phone owner to give such a good reward for getting his phone? For me, well it is pretty rare and I am proud of my dad because he did not want any reward in return.

Do you think that doing a good deed actually necessary for a reward in return?

PS : i'm not sure but somehow I remember that there is a thread which is quite familiar with this but I could not find it so please tell me if you found another similar thread with this one.

 

[Thepokefansophia]

Your dad was a good man for doing what he did and personally I think its polite to accept a reward if someone gave it to you.
The iphone owner must of been someone with alot of money as he just gave marble stone away?

Because most people would probably leave it or try and sell it or it could be just thrown in a bin somewhere. At my school in a lesson we were asked " if there was money on the floor would you take it or find the owner" and I suprised as all the kids in my class said they would take it.

I think when doing a good deed you should do it because it is a good thing to do and you shouldnt expect there to be a reward as you did something good which could of helped someone else and their gratitude for you helping them should be a good reward.
But if someone does give you a reward then personally I think you should take it.

 

[Electricbluewolf]

I do not think you should do good deed and expect a reward. It's like "here you were a decent human being, you get a reward for that!"

I think the difference is recognition and reward. I would not expect a reward if I found someones phone and gave it back to them. I do expect the person to thank me, but that is it-and even if they didn't it wouldn't stop me doing other things for people. Some people can be persistent in rewarding as they're so grateful-I might say just donate the money or take it and spend it on someone else, as personally I haven't done anything out of ordinary to earn that money.

For example, as I'm a dog walker I walk in many different location and have come across lost dogs. Usually they've been lost on the walk so when I walk them back to the car park the owners are there. One I found had been lost for 2 months, and the owner wanted to give me a lot of money as a reward. I didn't take it though-to me there was no greater satisfaction than reuniting the dog, as I had just found it by chance, so put no "effort" into finding it.

I'd be entirely grateful if someone found my phone or purse, I'd ask them if they'd want a reward.

Though with finding small amounts of money is a different scenario-I've found £5 and £10, I wouldn't put it into the police as who is a) going to report it b) someone people don't notice that amount missing and c) who are they going to prove its there's? If it was a large amount, yes I'd take it in as here it's against the law (or morally, can't remember)

 

[Klippy]

If the expectation of reward is your only reason for doing something, then you're probably not a good person doing a good deed.

 

[Orx of Twinleaf]

Whether or not you really want a reward, a good deed is done with some level of selfish reasoning invariably. For the truly altruistic, the selfish reasoning is in wanting to make the world a better place (note from this that just because a reason is selfish, it is not inherently immoral because of that).

Of course, not everyone is a monk-on-the-street. For some people, their selfish reasoning may indeed be for a personal reward. It matters little in the long run what reason they may have, the point stands that they still did the good deed regardless, and the recipient of the good deed, whether or not they reward the behavior, will undoubtedly like the deed just as much coming from a priest-at-heart or a secret-cat-killer.

While it may be frowned upon generally to expect material reward for altruistic behavior, most of us do expect immaterial reward along the lines of recognition in the form of a brief display of gratitude (i.e. a thank-you). In our lives, we have only one film we star in, and that is the one we act in every second we live. Like any good actor, we like to put our face out there, and even a tiny role in some other film as the guy who held the door open for some fellow once is still better than complete facelessness in that film, and it nets us a spot in the credits, anyway.

We are sociable creatures by nature, some of us in different ways that others, but all of us wishing in some way to appear in more films before we retire. It is this narcissistic drive that promotes the average Joes and Janes of the world to the level of good deed doer.

Now, to address the original question: if I am not mistaken the question was whether or not someone should expect a reward for a good deed, no? Well, whether you know it or not, you are doing it for some manner of reward unless you are in the minuscule percentage of truly saint-like, and if you are such an individual, I can only present my humble apologies that you will forever be far too good for this realm.

Just because you expect a reward doesn't mean you shouldn't do the deed. The fellow that gets his wallet back hardly cares whether or not you're a Nazi-sympathizer or a chaste nun, he very likely will appreciate the action regardless. Don't let a moral quandary stop you from acting like a good person, because very few people will actually ask whether or not you are a good person.

 

[Her]

I think 'goodness' is overrated in this context. Pursuing selfishness is a stronger motivator for most than attempting altruism and I don't think it's that much of an issue. If the superficially altruistic job gets done, and someone is eventually helped, then I find that I tend to care very little about the person's true motives. Individual cases vary obviously, but if someone wants a reward and they're asking for something in proportion for their act of kindness, whether it was born out of a selfish need or glory-to-God selflessness, I have no problem with that. Doesn't mean the person should get the reward or the like, but I think their reasoning is understandable. I think that's my own indifference talking, but I suppose someone had to say that selfishness isn't that bad. It's certainly efficient, for one thing.

 

[gimmepie]

If the expectation of reward is your only reason for doing something, then you're probably not a good person doing a good deed.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[Somewhere_]

If you are doing a good deed, it is not being good if you are doing it for a reward. If you are rewarded, bonus.

If you do a good deed, I do not think that would necessarily make good things happen to you. But you would increase your good reputation and open up more opportunities, as well as making others happy. So I think positive things would come out of it, no matter who the receiver is (the helper or the helped). Personally, my reward is feeling good about helping others and seeing the affects of my actions.