Throwback jersey, murder and idolatry

Once again, I'm shocked by current events here in Minnesota. This past week, a high school student was murdered. That isn't news anymore which is tragic, in and of itself. What's particularly troubling about this particular story is the reason for the murder.

It seems the victim, a 15-year old boy, was killed because some thugs wanted his throwback jersey.
http://www.startribune.com/467/story/657151.html

He was wearing a basketball jersey representing Morgan State University. Evidently, these throwback jerseys are popular and expensive, some costing as much as $400. They are coveted. In this case, when the thugs decided they wanted it, they shot the young man. From early news reports, a witness heard one of the perpetrators say to another "you weren't supposed to kill him, you were just supposed to scare him." A crime that started as a misdemeanor quickly tumbled out of control, resulting in another senseless death.

Dictionary.com defines "idolatry" as "excessive or blind adoration, reverence, devotion, etc."
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=idolatry
Whether throwback jerseys, $200 shoes worn by LeBron James or Michael Jordan, or obsession over the latest photos of Tom and Katie's baby, our nation has become a culture of idolaters. We want the latest jeans, the coolest t-shirt, autographs of stars, etc. To me it seems this obsession to have what others have, to be like them, to hold people and things in "reverence" is simply an example of false worship,

Deuteronomy 31:20 says, "When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their forefathers, and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and worship them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant."
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=5&chapter=31&verse=20&version=31&context=verse

Doesn't that seem to parallel what is happening in this country? We have so much wealth that we have turned to other gods and idols, whether actors, athletes or things. And when some can't afford the things others worship, they turn to desperate, senseless acts of violence. In this case, a 15-year old boy, an entire life in front of him, was shot...dead. All because someone wanted a "thing", a stupid jersey.

The jersey may have cost $200-400. The real cost was one life lost, and a few other lives spent behind bars for the next 10-20 years. All because of the desire to have a jersey.