"The ultimate achievement of life...

"The ultimate achievement of life is how you feel about yourself."

I heard that statement on a radio show yesterday morning. I was in the car between errands, so I didn't hear too much more than this. Enough to know that that topic was philanthropy; the speaker was a wealthy man extolling the virtues of giving.

So, is that true? Is "how I feel about myself" the "ultimate achievement of life?"

Of course the man on the radio was talking about giving away money to charitable causes. I suppose he does have something to feel good about, if the goal of giving is to feel good about oneself. I didn't hear if he felt that was the objective of giving: to feel good. I always thought the objective of charitable giving was to make someone else's life better, not my own. Of course I didn't hear the entire interview; most likely he has other motives than his own self-esteem.

I suppose a suicide bomber feels good about himself just before he kills innocent people. He's reached his ultimate achievement. Probably an abortion clinic worker feels good about herself for steering young women toward killing their unborn babies. That's her job, and she must believe that she is doing a good thing.

Are we the best authority on what our life's ultimate achievement is, or what it should be?