To do the right deed for the wrong reason.

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In T. S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral he explores the idea of temptation and martyrdom side by side.

"In Eliot’s telling, Beckett dreamed of martyrdom because he was far less afraid of pain and death than he was of the prospect that his life might be insignificant and forgotten. Beckett faces four temptations in the drama, the first three of which closely parallel the three temptations of Jesus in the Wilderness. But the fourth brings Beckett face to face with his dream of martyrdom as the tempter asks him,  

What can compare with glory of Saints

Dwelling forever in presence of God?…

Seek the way of martyrdom, make yourself the lowest

On earth, to be high in heaven. 

Contemplating this, Beckett realizes the subtlety of the temptation. If he became a martyr to satisfy his own desire for fame and immortality, he would not be a true martyr at all, but a traitor to his own ideals. Something that is good in itself would turn to ashes if it was pursued through bad motives. And so he concludes,

    The last temptation is the greatest treason
    To do the right deed for the wrong reason.

This same dynamic underlies all the Biblical temptation stories. The temptations of Jesus are the mirror image of those of Adam and Eve – to do with personal security, proof of God, and reaching one’s destiny, all of which are good things in themselves. If turning five loaves and two fish into food for five thousand is a miracle, why is it a sin to do the same for one man? The temptations are not about what appears on the surface, but motives and methods.

If temptation was all about blatant wrongdoing it would be far easier to avoid. Most people do not want to commit crimes or indulge in dissolute and destructive behaviour. But... the capacity for the human heart to justify the means by the end, and to nudge ourselves into tiny, incremental compromises is where true temptation lies.

Doing the right thing for the wrong reason becomes the wrong thing, But the reverse is also true. Sometimes the right thing to do is deemed wrong by accepted standards.... The temptation stories, it seems to me, are not there to make us law-abiding citizens, but to search out our deepest motivation for our actions. In the process they might even demand that we overturn a law here and there.... 

Extracted from an article in The Christian Century  - click here for the whole article (subscription)