I know it is just a story but...it confounds me that the Noldor were willing to suffer the Doom of Mandos for those shiny Silmarils!
I think this is a parallel to how we, in this day and age, take so much for granted. We risk our health, mentally and physically, to get ahead and have more "stuff". Maybe we don't have a Vala telling us we'll never be happy, but it is an example of how greed corrupts an otherwise good society.