Naeem's Blog

We've all heard of the saying 'keeping up with the Joneses' – it refers to the social pressures of maintaining a lifestyle similar to one's neighbors and friends.

And many of us have heard of the countering Prophetic tradition with the meaning 'When comparing your status in this world, look to those beneath you. When comparing your status in the after-world, look to those above you.'

Look to those much less fortunate and quell your materialistic desires. And look to those in the ranks of the God-fearing and pious to instill that burning desire to improve your own spiritual lot.

This most beautiful approach gives us the proper perspective if ever we get caught up in the vicious cycle of 'keeping up with the Joneses'.

So it was with sheer disgust and even greater empathy that I read this NY Times article on Silicon Valley millionaires who don't feel rich.

“But a few million doesn’t go as far as it used to. Maybe in the ’70s, a few million bucks meant ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,’ or Richie Rich living in a big house with a butler. But not anymore.”

Ya Allah! I pray that we never become so disconnected from the trials and tribulations of our less-fortunate fellow humans that such blasphemous words spew forth from our mouths.

Sadly there are too many young Muslims climbing up the ladders of affluence get caught up in this rat-race of life, constantly creating new 'reasons' for their material immersion, constantly convincing themselves that their worldly struggle is warranted.

I need a car.
The wife needs a car.
We need a nicer car.
We need a house.
We need a bigger house.
We need to put the kids into a good school.
We need to save for college.
We need to save for their marriages.
We need to save for retirement.
We need, we need, we need.

In actuality, there is very little 'need' involved. It is mostly 'want'.

And before we know it, we all end up like the Silicon Valley millionaires.

“Everyone around here looks at the people above them,” said Gary Kremen, the 43-year-old founder of Match.com, a popular online dating service. “It’s just like Wall Street, where there are all these financial guys worth $7 million wondering what’s so special about them when there are all these guys worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars.”

The real question is whether we will ever make that decision to willfully pull back on our consumer-based lifestyle or will we be forced to by external factors?