Pretension and lies…

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[Apologies to anyone who previously tried to read this post.  I accidentally deleted most of it, leaving only the last paragraph!]

Well I managed to drag myself off YouTube for a bit and scroll through Reddit, and this particular post caught my eye.  The post title is:

“People who work in ‘luxury’ industries (5-star hotels, fine dining, high-end brands), what is a complete rip-off that rich people happily pay for?”
And the article is available here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1pe0nf5/people_who_work_in_luxury_industries_5star_hotels/
I have just spent some time reading through all the comments.
How eye-opening this is! This post shows that in the world of the rich, many things are not what they claim to be, many places or establishments charge a huge premium for what, ultimately, is often *exactly the same* as is available at far more modest prices. Not just the same ingredients, but often exactly the same brand, from the same bottles. To a certain extent I’ve been aware of this but the extent to which it is true from the comments listed is truly shocking.

Reading the comments reminded me of a certain Bible verse:
Isaiah 44v20: [He cannot deliver his soul, nor say,] “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
The preceding verses talk about how a man constructs an idol from a piece of wood, carefully selecting a species that will not rot. Then it talks about the inanity of using half of the wood to carve an idol, then using the rest of it to roast his food. The implication is that if this is mere wood that can be used to roast your food, how can you then bow down to it to make it your god?

The specific part I would like to pull out from this verse is this question: “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” The man in question can never seem to catch himself in the moment and question the ludicrosity of his own actions. He can never look down at the idol he’s holding in his right hand, and acknowledge that this is just a big fat lie, something that he himself constructed out of wood can never be big enough to save him or deliver his life, or be an effective god in any other way. And then this is of course contrasted with the living God who made the heavens and the earth and is bigger than the universe.
This verse is exactly what springs to mind about the lavish lifestyles of these people. It seems like everything marketed as “luxury” (instead of, for instance well made quality) is a pretentious lie. So many people in the comments made the point that the rip off is often actually the point, or the USP.  These rich people know perfectly well that they could get the exact same bottle of wine for a 10th, or a 50th of the price. But by paying over the odds, then they signal that they can afford to not care about the price. (But then, counterintuitively, they would quibble about small inconsequential costs elsewhere). Or, many of these “bespoke” high-end fitted kitchens for instance are made not of wood but seemingly of particleboard and cheap laminates.  Seriously?!!!!!

In all, reading these comments made me realise that people who hanker after or insist upon a “luxury” lifestyle must often be living very lonely lives. This is different from people who are wealthy but invest their money into things of true value, who do not have anything to prove. I’m sure that the latter also spend lavishly at times but not foolishly…(Perhaps it is naive of me to assume that there is always a clear cut distinction between these two groups of people, perhaps many rich people flit endlessly between both camps or rather both mindsets.) It must be exceedingly lonely to be surrounded with so much fakery, and to know that the world and the people around you are so fake, and this is all a game that you have to play to fit in, that the people around you are only impressed not by who you are but by what you have, specifically your paying over the odds for everyday items. This is such a cliche, but I have read countless stories where these sorts of “friends” evaporate into thin air when the money does. But just (un)like the idol maker in Isaiah 44, surely there must be times when they catch themselves and ask “What on earth am I doing?! Why am I living this crazy lifestyle?  Why am I paying ridiculously over the odds for these ridiculously over-priced items which are not even particularly good quality?! All this to impress people who are not even truly my friends?!”

As I write this, I remember that I have met people like this in my life.  One particular individual springs to mind. I could possibly have chosen to go down that path too. Honestly, the thought of that makes me shudder. Thankfully God caught me before I was able to go too far in that direction. I hope it is fair to say that my current life is thoroughly grounded in true, quiet value over loud pretension. Furthermore I personally feel called to a life of simplicity. It is not that I have any inherent objection to money. I just cannot stomach the idea of living lavishly while other people struggle to have enough food to eat. That said, even in my life of simplicity there is sometimes a time and a place for paying extra for ease and convenience. However, the thought of paying extra for the sake of paying extra, or for the sake of making a point to other people is simply anathema.

If you are the person who is currently caught in this type of ostentatious lifestyle then I encourage you to take a good hard look at these things. Or spend a few minutes reading the linked article. And if you do conclude that there are changes that you would like to make in your life, it is never too late!  I encourage you to invest your time and your effort into real value, and to seek out true friends.  A surprising consequence of this is that this type of unshowy lifestyle is a lot less stressful and more peaceful, not to mention a lot less expensive!.  I’m sure you would quickly see that this is swapping fakewealth for true wealth.

PS: While God has protected me from this particular lie, all the same I acknowledge that I too have some lies that I am holding in my right hand. Even though I know that these things are lies, and my rational mind can easily identify them as lies, I have allowed myself to get to a point of being controlled in some ways by feelings over common sense. So even where I can rationally tell myself “This is ludicrous! What am I doing? This is silly!” I have all the same not been able to let go of these things. This is 100% linked to spiritual strength, and intimacy with God. So I also need to get deeper with my God and hopefully come back to a place where I can speak reason to myself, and listen.