Middlepath, OK, i’m here to answer you. I didn’t read all the posts though, because this is a long thread.
The idea that one is taught to do mitzvos just to have Olam Habah is too strict and confining. It is very sad. I was brought up on the premise that we were put on this earth to “serve” Hashem. What would we not do for the one who gave us life, our creator, and who gave us all these wonderful and amazing things to enjoy? And look at these amazing mitzvos he is teaching us? How to treat our parents who gave us life? How to help other people, even animals? Hashem teaches us to be compassionate and passionate people. He teaches us to care and to give and look what happens when we care and give? We have “emotions”, we learn to love. How amazing is that?
When we serve Hashem appropriately we gain so much. Yes of course Hashem tests us, but that is only to make us stronger and make our relationship with him stronger and we know that Hashem knows everything and sees everything so we don’t have to keep score our mitzvos are always banked. We might not see our rewards immediately for our work and our efforts, sometimes Hashem rewards us visibly in the present, but sometimes he saves the big rewards for Olam Habah.
As I told you earlier I don’t charge for my work, I only do it for chessed and for people Hashem sends my way. When the Bernie Madoff scandal hit the news and people were hit very hard it didn’t effect me at all because my bank account with Hashem was not affected at all. I didn’t invest with Bernie, I invested with Hashem and I didn’t lose a penny. So for all those who made fun of me that I put in hours and hours (and money as well) into my clients without compensation, I had the last laugh. My investment was safe and never at risk, and my compensation and dividends grew and grew with every chasunah, child that was born to a client, accomplishment and success that they had.
So if you understand the difference of serving Hashem versus serving your own purposes of gaining Olam Habah, which is a result of serving Hashem appropriately, then you will realize there really isn’t any conflict at all. We are NOT a self-centered people. We are Hashem’s people and we were put here to serve him and to value, respect and appreciate all of his creations.