Good Intentions

First:

I love the free shirts you get for donating blood. Love them. Absolutely love how they're all 5x too big and can easily double for camping tents, bed sheets, or area rugs. I love how they have wacky logos and lame catchphrases. I love using them to dye my hair or as pajamas. I like having a little collection of them, lining my t-shirt drawer. I just like them. I don't give blood to get them (as if being stabbed with a blood-sucking needle is compensated for by a t-shirt? really?), but I think they're a nice memoir of donating blood...and they effectively double as beach towels when you're out clean ones.

Now enter Boy Exhibit A:

Criz: Did you give blood today?
Boy Exhibit A: I just finished.
Criz: Nice! How long did it take you?
Boy Exhibit A: 5 minutes.
Criz: Wow that's fast! It took me thirteen minutes! Did you get a t-shirt?
Boy Exhibit A (smugly): Nah. I don't do it for the t-shirt.

Really? REALLY?

Because while I think he's trying to communicate that he gives blood for the sake of saving lives, he also seems to be communicating that some people, the ones who "do it for the t-shirts (i.e. me)," are somehow lacking in purity of heart.

Am I over-reacting?

Am I only giving blood for the t-shirt? Will my reward in heaven be nullified due to insincere motivations? Is the 100% cotton, XXXXXL, t-shirt my only reward on earth?

So then I got to thinking: Do our (or my) good-intentions, as well-intentioned as they may be, communicate to others that they are less-than? Probably?

Anyway, moral of the story: I'm going to try to cut out bragging about ridiculous things that aren't even making me more 'holy'.

And I'm also going to keep building my blood donation t-shirt collection. Because I really like those shirts and have plans to make my own parachute.