The Morality of Jewelry

Today, I had a conversation regarding the morality of jewelry.

A student was writing a paper about the morality of jewelry, but he didn't seem to have a clear idea of what moral question he wanted to try to answer. One question that came to mind was whether or not it's morally acceptable to buy and wear jewelry. Jewelry is expensive, and it serves no real purpose. The money that is spent on jewelry would probably be better spent elsewhere, especially if it's spent charitably. Is it morally acceptable to waste money on jewelry when that money could otherwise be spent on helping the poor instead?

This question could easily extend to any luxury good or service. Do I have any right to spend money on myself, on things I don't really need, when there are others who could use my help? I suppose that the question ultimately boils down to what it means to be my brother's keeper. What obligations do I have to help my fellow man? Certainly, I have some obligation to help the poor, and I do help some, through my fast offerings, but I probably should do more. The question is: how much more? How much of my money should I spend on the poor, and how much can I justifiably spend on myself?

This is a difficult and probably personal question to answer. It may be that the optimal luxury to charity ratio is different for each person. At any rate, I don't think I'll find clear guidelines for how much money I should spend on the poor and how much I'm allowed to spend on myself. I may have to seek personal revelation on this topic. Still, I'll venture a guess that at least some amount of luxury is acceptable, so I'd say that at least some amount of jewelry is probably acceptable as well.