What Motivates Mother Theresa?

A friend and I had a discussion this evening about the degree to which Mother Theresa's good works were motivated by a desire to "do good" versus a desire to get to heaven and be rewarded for her good works when she gets there.

I say that all human beings are strongly motivated by self-interest and that, even for Mother Theresa, the promise of a heavenly reward was never far from the surface. She may have loved her work -- she was probably turned on by it -- but without the promise of "heaven" and the knowledge that she was doing "God's work", it's likely she would have found another line of work. .

My friend feels that Mother Theresa was such a paragon of goodness that surely her primary motivation -- at least 95% -- had to be, could only be, "doing good." That's "who she is!"

I, on the other hand, spent enough years years in Catholic schools (16) to know damn well that MOST believing Catholics (which Mother Theresa certainly was) are strongly motivated, if not totally motivated, by a fear of hell and an absolute determination to get to heaven.

Granted, Mother Theresa did good work and I admire her, but don't tell me that the "reward factor" did not play a part. It's part and parcel of Catholicism, in much the same way as being rewarded in Paradise for doing Allah's will is intrinsic to Islam.

As if I need to add to my lengthy list of "things that bug me about religion," here's another: Most devoutly religious people are primarily motivated by a desire to save their immortal asses (er, I mean souls), although they never admit it.

Sounds pretty self-centered if you ask me!