Where The Water-Lilies Drift

"People have different ways of expressing goodness; some people do good and then tell anybody who'll listen, and even some that won't, what good they've done.  Heck, some only do good to hear their own name being praised -- half of the stuff those folks say ain't true, it's just pompous exaggeration.  Then there're other folks who don't talk so loud, or nay at all (though those are a rare few).  They're the best kind, young 'un.  They are the sort who don't do good for the sake of glory, they do it to genuinely help.  Some of them at least, though some of them do it to appease their conscience. "

"But grandma, if you're only doing good to please yourself, then aren't you just as bad or worse than those who do good to please others?"

"No, darlin', no.  The loud ones who proclaim their greatness don't do so for the benefit of others.  They want to prove that they're better than other people, to be praised like the peacock with his tail of beautiful feathers.  They seek earthly praise to quench their pride, not heavenly guidance to keep them doing right.  That's what a conscience is darlin'.  It's a little piece of God speaking in us.  Those that fulfill the wishes of their conscience may not have the easiest path, or be the loudest praised, but people will admire their goodness, and even more their silence. The point is that they do the right thing because they know it's right, no matter what.  Even when it seems there is no right thing, listening to one's conscience allows those few honest folks to keep at peace with themselves.  Integrity has its own rewards -- perhaps not the flashiest ones, but certainly the most deserved.  Youngin', when you do good, be one of the quiet ones."