Being from a smaller community, to see the brands of Gucci and Prada in a mall is quite a different experience for me.
In Korea, I understand, Uijeongbu is considered a small town. What people don’t understand is that—I came from a small town. My small town of Laurens, SC had around 10,000 people there while I grew up. The city of Uijeongbu has 355,000 people there. So, it is surprising to see anything selling Gucci or Prada in the stores much less have entire store sections devoted to them. I guess in this small town, people buy those.
To be honest, in a town of 355,000, I am sure there are people that can afford those brands—but they are much to rich for me.
I believe in quality. If you must buy a higher price because something may last longer due to that higher quality then, by all means, buy the higher priced item—for it may save more money and hassle in the long run.
However, how often do we buy things for status symbols alone? We are called to be good stewards of the money that God has given us. Sometimes having the nicest name brands simply because of the brand name is not good stewardship. Sometimes, it is too rich for us.
We live in a world that celebrates extravagance and excess. But, as Christians, we need to shy away from excess or extravagance. This excess and extravagance is not only a symptom of a poor steward, it is a symptom of where the heart truly is.