"isn't as good."
First of all there is no such way to quantify "good." Either it is good or its bad.
So do you actually think it's appropriate to label an altruistic act that you are aware of as actually "bad?" Or is it still good?
After all, just because you are aware that you are doing something good doesn't mean that you're not choosing to do it for the right reasons. Any person with a bit of awareness is going to be self-aware enough to evaluate what they are choosing to do, correct?
Wow you're so humble. Hey everyone, check out how humble this guy is, he's clearly far more humble and superior in humility than I am. Hey everyone do you see this guy? He's incredible!
Lets all come together and laud you for your well thought out plan to be seen as good by everyone around you. Yeah, that's completely altruistic. Once everyone knows how humble and altruistic you are, maybe then you'll believe it yourself!
Good luck Jesus, I mean Seymour.
Uh, way to resort to an out-of-the-blue character slam rather than actually address the content. Let's actually dig into the topic a bit deeper here...
You seem to focus on binary alternatives when we're discussing something more complex. There are more options than being entirely oblivious to the essence of your choices ("good"?) vs being aware of the ramifications of your choices ("bad?"). In my experience, you CAN be aware of your reasoning behind making certain "good" decisions without actually doing them for selfish reasons, can't you?
Yes, it's good to do good deeds without sitting around calculating the potential benefit to oneself (this is what is means to "not let your right hand know what the left is doing"). And it's also good to make conscious sacrifices -- who wouldn't "count the cost" when they are constructing a tower -- the Bible suggests we SHOULD be counting the cost!), and of course making a conscious sacrifice for all the right reasons is certainly a good act.
I don't really see these ideas as being in contradiction Biblically. You can do things out simply flowing out of a good nature without even having to consider them; and you can also do good things through a very painful, very conscious process of scrutiny and choice to sacrifice. Jesus himself did both; there are many examples of latter, including the Garden of Gethsemene. (Jesus was very aware of what he was called to do and what he was expected to do, and he didn't want to do it; and then he chose to do it anyway. But of course all that deliberation occurred in private.)