Is Buying Gems in "Clash of Clans" Pointless?

Clash of Clans is hugely popular worldwide, as it evident by a world CoC championship with a large pool of money involved, and a plethora of YouTube channels dedicated to CoC that have cropped up recently. It is also famous for its optional in-game purchases, with some people spending real money like crazy to buy in-game gems to boost their villages. But seeing that gems are very easy to obtain in-game, and progression, with or without gemming is fairly fast and easy, aren't these people just being too greedy? They could've gotten their precious builder if they just had waited. But no! They need it right now! And that, to me, sounds fairly stupid. What do you guys think?