Jenny Sanders invites us to reconsider what we truly value in a world obsessed with status and material success. Her insights resonate deeply with the words of 1 Timothy 6:6: “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”
Jane Birkin’s 1985 leather handbag recently sold at auction in Paris for over £7 million (€8.6million; $10.1 million) despite some unsightly old sticker marks. Hers was the first, purportedly designed after the contents of her wicker basket fell into the lap of the designer on a plane as she tried to lodge it in the overhead locker. Her initials were embossed and subsequent iterations became a coveted accessory for models, film stars and anyone with a budget that could stand it, including Victoria Beckham and Kate Moss.
READ MORE: Money is often a taboo subject, it is my aim as a Christian woman to change that
The bag comes in four sizes, determined by the length of the base rather than the litre capacity (unlike your rucksack), priced from Hermès at £7,000-£9,750. Resale prices regularly run to five figures. It’s not the bag you want to leave on the bus, but since you must have an ongoing relationship with the fashion house to purchase one, it’s not going to be a problem for most of us.
The Birkin bag as a status symbol is, perhaps, as clichéd as Chanel sunglasses and Audi A4s.
The Birkin bag as a status symbol is, perhaps, as clichéd as Chanel sunglasses and Audi A4s. These are the prerogative of the super rich; a tiny proportion of the population. Yet even for those of us who don’t have Louboutins knocking around in our wardrobe, status symbols are still alive and well.
READ MORE: Five things I have learned about…financial planning
Status is about hierarchy, appealing to our pride. Owners of whatever the current ‘must-have’ item is (which keeps the advertising industry in business in our consumerist societies), gain a sense of kudos, belonging, improved social position and acceptance. The feeling that others want to be like you brings it’s own hit of dopamine; a warm fuzzy that you are worthy of imitation. That sense of specialness is seductive and addictive.
In the current financial climate, most of us have our eyes on lesser and more grounded goals. Forget diamonds, simply paying the bills shouldn’t be aspirational, but is becoming increasingly so as we tighten our belts, cancel our Netflix subscriptions, avoid regular eating out and dream of being able to afford seasonal, organic food that won’t break the bank. Single income families are mostly a thing of the past. What an irony that having been told we can ‘have it all’, the role of traditional housewife is returning to the spotlight as something to aspire to. Keeping our heads above economic water means that’s now out of reach for the majority of women.
‘Health is wealth’ has become a popular mantra. One UK-based company that follows behavioural and spending trends says that long life and health/wellbeing are now ‘core to luxury’s evolving value and proposition’. Having a gym membership is now a status symbol; David Lloyd, Trib3, or Third Space in London are all popular, if pricey, luxury health-focused establishments.
So, are millennials driving the move away from material wealth towards something more holistic and fulfilling? Quite possibly.
The status symbols themselves may have changed but they haven’t gone away.
The status symbols themselves may have changed but they haven’t gone away. Dreams are legitimate but can feed a self-focused culture which may prompt us as Jesus-followers to ask some questions: Where am I focused? Am I keeping relationship with Jesus at the centre of my life or am I giving up an unhealthy proportion of head space to things I want for myself, or even feel entitled to?
READ MORE: Should Christians be rich? Does having a lot of money mean you won’t go to heaven?
Am I serving others? Do I prioritise my wants over the needs of others. When did I last do something inconvenient or costly in terms of time, money or emotional capacity for someone else?
Eyes on the prize: Jesus went to the cross because His eyes were fixed on ‘the joy that was set before him’ (Hebrews 12:2) – the redemption of broken people to populate heaven and enjoy forgiven intimacy with him forever: us. What is our ‘prize’? Am I cushioning myself from the radical demands of Jesus by using material things, forgetting Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:25: ‘For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it’ ?
True significance already belongs to us as daughters of the King; no status symbols are required to boost that.
No comments yet