(Originally referred by John Campea)

When you buy gifts:

1) We need to distinguish between necessities and luxuries, and normally we need to reject both our desire for the latter and our inclination to blur the distinction.
2) Expenditures for the purpose of status, pride, staying in fashion, and "keeping up with the Joneses" are wrong.
3) We need to distinguish between expenditures to develop our particular creative gifts and legitimate hobbies and a general demand for all the cultural items, recreational equipment, and current hobbies that the "successful" of our class or nation enjoy.
4) We need to distinguish between occasional celebration and normal day-to-day routine. A turkey feast with all the trimmings at Thanksgiving to celebrate the good gift of creation is Biblical (Deut. 14:22-27). Unfortunately, many of us overeat every day.
5) There is no necessary connection between what we earn and what we spend on ourselves. We should not try to buy things just because we can afford them.

from Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ronald J. Sider