Fear and Greed

My friend recently told me something he learned in his Philosophy class. He told me that every action we commit is the result of either fear or greed. For example if I help an old lady cross the street it is not out of some admiration of helping old ladies or even love of people. When I first heard this my initial reaction was "That can't be true because so many people act out of love alllll the time..... right?" Well I began to question the things that people do out of love on a human to human level. If you buy your mother a birthday present is it really bought out of love or because you are afraid that she will be disappointed or angry at you for not buying the gift. On another level is human to God. Most people I have heard preach or talked to about why we should listen to God or obey his commandments is out of love and not obligation. However at many times in my life I have felt that I follow God's commands out of fear of going to hell. Now although I have found that in many circumstances this idea about fear and greed is true I am still hopeful that there are other motivations to act such as love, sympathy, pity and many others. In conclusion I challenge you to consider how and why you act the way you do, you may not agree but thinking about these things is helpful in personal growth.