Behoove

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word behoove as: to be necessary, fit, or proper for. Therefore, it would be well used in the sentence "It behooves us to go to the police station to turn in the evidence of the crime, so that the criminal will be caught and so that we can claim the reward offered."

To behoove is to do something that both gains one in personal profit but is also the morally correct thing to do, making it an intriguing word as, generally, personal profit and morally sound are not co-joined in the same concept or idea. Generally when one is doing something for personal gain, it is thought of to be more of an act of selfishness or greed. But when the word behoove is involved, the concept of a self-serving act expands to an act that also serves the greater good, and is therefore socially and morally acceptable, even at a personal profit to the person who is benefiting from it.

As a further example, it would behoove someone who is interested in a romantic episode with someone to buy roses for that person, to find out about the hobbies of that person and invite them to an activity that the person would find appealing, and it would behoove that person to be polite and warm to their romantic interest. In the end, they would benefit from the romance, but at the same time, they would have earned that romance by conducting themselves in a morally responsible way, and would have also made that other person very happy by involving them in the romance, thus the action would not merely be self-serving or an act of greed.

The difference between those who behoove and those who conduct actions based on a lower level of morality largely separates the criminal element from the rest of society.