Do the right thing anyway

I remember reading an interesting news article from Lisbon, Portugal. It was about a dog, Preta, who never misses a Sunday service at a local neighborhood church.

Every Sunday at 5 a.m., the dog leaves the house of her owner in a small town of Sobrado, and heads to the church. Preta is not shy. She goes right up to the front of the church and lies down by the side of the altar. Whenever the congregation rises, Preta does the same. When they sit down, she stretches out on the stone floor for the remainder of the service. The statement that caught my attention was, "The church is routinely packed to capacity because everyone wants to see the famous parishioner."

I've always been interested in motivation. What it is that causes people to do certain things, even at great sacrifice. There are those who serve on boards and committees of churches, local service organizations, political bodies, etc. Often, there is no monetary remuneration, and they are willing to face scrutiny and criticism for their decisions.

Some serve because they have a burning desire to see some kind of change occur; others may enjoy the activities which take place; and still others may simply like the challenge of tackling something which stretches their minds and abilities. Whatever the motivation, I applaud those who are willing to make those kinds of efforts and sacrifices.

When T.S. Eliot, in Murder in the Cathedral, wrote, "The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right thing for the wrong reason," he was speaking of serious matters, not simply packing a church in order to see the "famous parishioner" - a dog.

I'm not being cynical, however, I often wonder how much would ever get done if we had to do the right thing for the right reason.

On the other hand, perhaps it is better to do the right thing for the wrong reason than to never do the right thing at all!