Kant

Kant thought that a moral act done for its own sake or for the sake of duty was the pure, desirable, superior motive for acting. He was likely correct. But when we make decisions that we have to make right now while in the trenches of daily life, slogging along, trying to keep our morale up and keep trucking, secondary or even tertiary moral motives make the the motive we select. If I work hard, I will be prosperous. If I live right and am faithful my faith, family and standards, God and my neighbors usually will approve of my efforts and choices. I likely will enter heaven at the end of it all. These empirical motives inspire us and should not be slighted or dismissed. That is impractical. The trivial motives works best, especially n less developed folks with weak wills, without iron self-discipline.