When I was in training for suicide prevention, one of the first things we addressed was this notion of "helping" or even further of "saving." We were forced to interrogate that rigorously. And eventually to give it up.

I know plenty of people who live compassionately and are dedicated to it. It motivates a lot of what they do. It isn't a personal quality. It is a shared ideal of living well as a human being. I don't see how that could be turned into something that is a negative or selfish. There are people who work long and hard to rid themselves of egoic tendencies. And believe or not, people are successful in doing just that. What they do then when they commit to others in a community or society cannot be taken as bad faith. That's too easy.