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Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess

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Enough: Commitment in an Age of Excess

Will Samson. David C. Cook, $14.99 paper (256p) ISBN 978-0-7814-4542-9
Tailor-made for an age of anxiety, this volume, written particularly for Christians, attempts to address and answer the author's question: "What would it be like to be formed by communities consumed by God and God's vision for the world?" The author, a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of Kentucky, indicts Christians for supporting a cultural obsession with consumption, a constrictive view of morality and a narrow view of God. Threading his own conservative evangelical background and his family's present experiences as part of an intentional community throughout the book, the author also uses Scripture to delineate an alternative vision: countercultural "Eucharistic Communities" that offer their resources to the world. The first chapters of the book include cultural, sociological and theological analysis of the dilemmas of consumption and contrasts them with the writer's vision of God's call to abundant life in Christ. In the second part, Samson offers detailed, practical ideas on how believers can make lifestyle changes aimed at embracing wholeness in connecting belief and practice as the people of God. (Mar.)

[ This review originally appeared on englewoodreview.org ]

There are any number of books being written at present about economics; many of these that have been on my reading list have to do with the sorry state of the global food economy. Take, for instance, The End of Food, a thorough and necessary account of food economies, but one that commonly assumes a default of "a food economy...defined by scarcity." Indeed, the buzzwords of current economic discourse all seem to connote doom and gloom: "economic downturn," "recession anxiety," etc. So how welcome is Will Samson's new book Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess, which goes right to the heart of modern economics, namely that "we are people consumed by stuff" (notably, this point is missing from almost all conversation about "the economy"). Further, as Samson goes out of his way to make clear that he understands this problem to be theological as much (or more) than just cultural, he posits that "we are not consumed by an incarnational God the same way we are consumed by stuff."

To begin to address the question of consumerism, the "way of thinking about stuff that believes the consumption of things...is what will...make us content," Samson makes some general remarks that guide the rest of the book, and that I hope will inform an even broader conversation:

"Is there enough for everyone? This is an economic question, and in our discussion here I am certainly going to try and address the question from an economic perspective. But it is not just an economic question, is it? In fact, the question of whether there are sufficient resources in this world may be one of the most important theological questions of our time. How we answer it reveals much regarding our belief about the character of God: who we think God is, how we think God provides for the creation, and what role humans play in that work - this all relates directly to our understanding of God."

Samson's understanding of the kingdom of God is first of all radically incarnational; it is played out in every facet of the world, "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Secondly, it is communal, realized most fully in the gathered body, what Samson names the "Eucharistic community."

The Eucharist meal is the common image of abundance throughout Enough, and seems particularly appropriate this Easter week. Samson reminds that this meal is the model for the church: "the bread and wine are made of other elements but are no longer able to be described as a simple composite of these elements: they have become new creations. In the same way, we are called to give of ourselves to our communities and to the world. But, we are called as communities to do so" (emphasis added). Additionally, the elements are "given graciously," the meal is sensual and physical, and it "provides an alternative telling of the other stories that have come to dominate the church in modernity."

The flesh and blood of the Eucharist meal, then, is the image of the abundance of God, embodied in Christ crucified and risen, and offered for participation to the church, that it be "one body," incarnate in the world. Samson offers a rich understanding of the ways we have failed to embody this sacrificial calling, turning instead to a fascination with stuff - commodities of both the free market, and a commodified religion.

Enough is told through much of Will's own narrative, from early formational experiences of the church and American capitalism, to the present, as members with his family of an intentional community in Lexington, Kentucky. Much of the book is a large theological framework to understand an economics based on the kingdom of God, perhaps similar to what Wendell Berry has called "the Great Economy." And for all of the thoughtful theology, Will remains easy to read and funny (he is perhaps the first to use language like "mac daddy" with regards to eschatology.)
Several chapters in the second half are devoted to specific practices that would give shape to a "Eucharistic Community," such as eating together, seeing the local neighborhood by walking or biking, investing in people rather than corporations, and spending locally; all of these are suggestions being made by many today, but for Samson these practices are tied to larger telos: "we must find ourselves in a broader story, namely the very presence of God that occurs within the gathered community of Jesus followers." Conversion, a continuous process, wholeness and gratitude are also at the heart of this community.

Enough is an encouragement that the gathered body of the church need not worry "what we will eat..." if we begin to embrace a Eucharistic understanding of the abundance of resources given. Particularly as the use of this world's resources are being called into question at every turn, Samson reminds that perhaps the question is not Is there enough?, but rather, how shall we use what has been given?

When I first started this book, I half-expected it to be a diatribe against modern culture, focusing on the sins of our excess. While the book does mention those excesses, what I found instead was a call to live into true church community. Will encourages us to say "enough" to the consumeristic tendencies that have overtaken our personal lives, our churches, or friendships, and our theology and return to a Christ-centered practice instead.

The book is divided into two main sections. The first is an accessible exploration of the ways we have let consumeristic mindsets control who we are. And the second is a practical section that explores the areas of our lives in which we can say "enough" and provides broad suggestions for alternative ways of living. Both sections are easy to read, full of stories and examples, and do a good job of explaining ideas and trends in culture. While I personally found myself wishing for more substance in parts of the book, I found it as a whole to be a great introduction to the idea of exploring how our lives reflect what we believe.

The main call in the book is for us to live eucharistic lives. Living eucharistically "is to find ourselves in a community of others seeking the same, seeking to follow God in the way of Jesus.". But instead of living radically in that way, Will argues that we make do on low-cost, low-commitment substitutes. We exchange Christian community for the easy "personal decision for Christ." We exchange the command of stewardship for a "eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die get raptured" theology. We have failed to realize that what we do, where we live, and what we buy reflects our theology. Will reminds us though that our lives are a gospel account "written in public for all to see" and calls us to question what sort of story we are telling. He encourages us to abandon the story of how our inner longings push us to consume more and more, and adopt a story of finding a place in the presence of God and the community of believers.

I'd recommend Enough to those who are wondering if there is a different way to follow Jesus that just doesn't rubberstamp the culture. This is a book for those who want to live redemptively but who have no idea where to begin. Will does a good job in providing a biblical guideline for how we can start to rethink our interactions with others and with the world and live in a way that makes the term "Christ-follower" mean something tangible.

Will Samson's "Enough," ironically, left me longing for more.
There were a variety of different things happening in this book which, if each idea had been catalogued in a single book, could have been much more developed, poignant and persuasive; however, as Samson himself noted in a number of spots in the book, he is somewhat tangential which I feel muffled some of his more potent ideas. I know that he was trying to make this book palatable to his probable audience (those who are concerned with the effects of consumption who, stereotypically, reside on a specific arc of the political spectrum) but his subtle commentary with sarcastic references to political ideologies also kept me from fully engaging in the book and seemed to detract from the gravity of American and Christian consumption. And I think that the most difficult component of this is that he recognizes the significance of Christian consumption and, yet, neglected to really spell out the potentially cataclysmic effects.
So, that being said, here is my response to the book.
To begin, (again, as he notes) the structure of the book is "a bit more wonky" (27). This is me being nit-picky but had he structured his book the way he detailed it on the previous page (26) it would have presented a much more cogent argument with a more fluid transition from idea to idea.
There could have been much more time spent on chapter 2. At the core, the issue of Christian consumption is derived from a misinterpretation or misunderstanding of certain biblical narratives, it has become exacerbated by the American civil religion which has wed American ideologies (in all of its facets: war, good and evil, consumption, morality, etc.) with Christianity. Rightly stated, he notes that it often leads American Christians to "see what God is doing in the world and what America is doing in the world as the same thing" (44). While this is disturbing and depressing that American Christians sometimes feel that way, the most important effect of this is that "the actions of our churches interpret for the world the message of the gospel" (37). This is enormous and, in my view, should have been the primary message of the book and should serve as the primary impetus for American Christians when they consume.
One message that the American Church (and, of course, I don't mean all. I'm speaking in generalizations) is sending out to the world is that, "yes, we are aware that there is hunger, disease, strife, and death, all of which is in our financial purvey to alleviate; however, our homes and cars, our churches and stuff, come first. Charity is a secondary byproduct of our conversion/conviction. Not first." Recent studies has noted that the American Church (both Protestants and Catholics) make over $3 trillion dollars a year. With global organizations noting that it would take mere tens of billions of dollars to eradicate extreme hunger, poverty, and preventable diseases, what message is the world hearing is the "message of the gospel?"
Samson makes references to some of these ideas but, as stated earlier, doesn't spend enough time and doesn't include enough statistics to make the issue powerful.
I appreciate his discussion of prophetic voices and visions and the reactions of the American church in Chapters 3 and 5. People both in and outside of the church are voicing their concerns about our consumption and we don't appear to be listening. When eschatology is brought into the conversation, Samson, again, does an ok job of tying the two together but not "enough." As the "prophecies" of modern apocalyptic visionaries converge with political ideologies regarding consumption, the voraciousness of Christian appetites becomes seemingly insatiable. The ideas of "America's robustness is a result of faithfulness to God" and "the world will end soon" lead to words like Ann Coulter: "`Earth is yours. Take it. [...] It's yours. [...]Big gas-guzzling cars with phones and CD players and wet bars -- that's the Biblical view" (Ann Coulter, "If Democrats had brains, they'd be Republicans").
I really felt like the latter half of the book, starting with Chapter 6, had a good deal of great ideas that were spelled out well (but still left me wishing for more). The correlation to the mind-body-spirit crises was great. In a world that is hungry and sick, it is not only irresponsible of Christians to consume the way that we do, it is indicative of a mental dichotomy between a God who is sufficient, who calls us to consume well (not a lot but responsibly and good), who calls us to care for and nurture both the world and the people in it and a religion that appears to selectively ignore those passages of the Bible. Christian consumption on a physical and spiritual level is far more of an issue and a reflection of a cancerous ideology than some of the other seemingly insignificant issue of homosexuality, for example. There are 12 passages that make some sort of reference to homosexuality in the Bible each of which, when contextualized, could yield very different ideas than the interpretation people outside of the church assume we all think. Yet there are thousands of verses about caring the poor and I believe the life of Jesus reflects that as well.
So, in this review, I'm not trying to berate Samson's work. I enjoyed it. I really did. I do recommend this book. Read it. It's relatable. It's palatable. He does a fine job getting the conversation started. Start with him and then move towards books like "The Ethics of Consumption" or "Hot, Flat and Crowded" and read them as a concerned Christian.
I would give this book a three and a half. I just felt like I wanted more. Christian consumption (especially those of American Christians) affects our spiritual disposition, the global environment and the souls that God yearns to heal and draw close. If we as a church don't recognize the gravity of the issue and realign our priorities to be like that of Christ, we will continue to tell the world that our God is not enough.
[...]

ill Samson hooked me early in this new book. He paints an image of the communion table where one person eats all of the elements. One person devours all of the bread and the wine and none is left for anyone else. The Eucharist, the beautiful good gift of God that was given to show us how to live is hoarded and misused.

"Surely Jesus didn't die so some people could grab it all , while others are left out."

"There was supposed to be enough. Wasn't there?"

With that the book enters in to a very well paced and sourced discussion of how we as modern Christians need to deal with our poor stewardship of all that God has entrusted us with. Enough goes beyond a simple argument of how we manage tangible resources and digs deep into how well we steward who we are and how we steward our relationships (personally and communally).

One of the elements I love about this book is the pacing. The chapters move well and are just the right blend of insight from Samson who clearly has something to add to the Christian conversation about how much is enough. Samson also really uses sources well and the quotes and statistics really seem to land at the right spots. I have burned out a couple of highlighters on this book and the quotes he uses from other writers and thinkers especially seem to land Samson's arguments and even take them further.

One section of the book that is really dear to me is where Samson moves the discussion towards our poor view of what it means to be a follower of Christianity and not Christ. He lands the idea of civil religion well and speaks to how we have been sold on the idea that the world will burn and how we steward it really doesn't matter. We often more than we know are part of system that acts this way, even if this not what we believe at our core. I think he really lands well the idea that if you were watching us behave from 10,000 feet you would see consumers first and Christians second or maybe even third.

The final section of the book really ends well with a very thoughtful discussion that has some great suggestions mixed in. The suggestions for moving beyond being consumers are really simple easy ideas that could radically change believers, if they were embraced. I felt like I could go out and implement most all of them this week. It wouldn't be easy, but it is possible. I could see how just a few simple steps could really change my family and effect those who live around me.

I really appreciated this book and will for sure be adding it to my "need to read" list for our community. As I read and read the Eucharist story from early on never left my head. It was the perfect backdrop for this book and is an amazing image of how we appear to live. This book with that image and much much more could be a great way for Christians to begin the discussion on modeling better stewardship to a culture that desperately needs to see it.

Will Samson had a typical childhood background growing up in the typical American church. Samson is white, middle class and suburban. Or he was, before exiting his "typical" evangelical life for "greener" pastures, which has worked itself out as a more socially conscious and environmentally oriented Christ follower. Currently a PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Kentucky, Samson is excellently qualified to write on the dicey subject of Christianity, contentment and the foibles and follies of the church at large. Having personally lived on both sides of the fence, he espouses a refreshingly stark look at Christianity's strengths and weaknesses by asking believers to confront their beliefs, ask the hard questions, and then proceed to move into society for the good of others and to better emulate Jesus.

With noteworthy commentary on Communion and the "common table" of Christianity, Samson explores various metaphors frequently taken for granted or misunderstood by Christians. He similarly focuses on challenging believers to grasp the fact that God has made the church sufficient to work in the world. As Samson continues, he discusses the importance of viewing the Trinity rightly, as a social relationship, whereupon we as God's social creatures "are meant to create communities that reflect that union..." And the clincher: "How does that affect the way we think about our resources?"

Readers will appreciate Samson's candidness, and his personal history will offer evangelicals insight into his choices and decisions for present-day actions. Samson enthusiastically tackles such topics as people who are consumed by "stuff" and the kinds of stuff that captivate and ruin lives. He also details the ins and outs of consumerism --- how views of God alter an individual's choices, specifics on Jesus and sustainability, and the Spirit of the Antichrist and how believers must re-imagine the readiness of Christ's return.

Of extra interest are Samson's chapters that delve into the practicalities of wide-range subjects pertinent to every person, including body (lifestyle diseases and the mind-body connection), earth (food, energy and much more), economy (God and capitalism and paying for the party) and community (loss of moral center and fragmented lives/communities). It is in this section that readers will find hands and feet to their newly discovered intentions. Every chapter describes the current "reading" in our culture and its associated downfalls. Samson aligns this information with scriptural principles and then makes suggestions for implementing said principles.

While not every Christian will agree with his premises, Samson has done the church a great service in pulling together the incongruities of the "haves and have-nots" and how the church is to reach out and meet such needs. Whether by gently nudging (or a guilt-inspired inner shove), every contemporary Christian should read this text and spend some time re-evaluating how well their faith walk fits with the message of Jesus (and the example He set for every one of us).

--- Reviewed by Michele Howe

Enough doesn't try to be everything to everyone. Will Samson is writing as a Christian for Christians. I appreciate that he put that out there in the beginning.

This book is a good introduction and challenge to any Christian struggling with excessive consumption of stuff. Lots and lots of stuff.

Quick, informative, quality read.

It's one of those books that isn't pleasant to read, because it's so challenging. But if you think of yourself as a follower of Jesus, and actually want to follow in his footsteps, not just offer Sunday lip service, then you need to live by the principles he outlines.

It's a worthwhile read. It reminds of some things, and puts others in perspective. Very helpful, especially going into the Buying Frenzy associated with Christmas in this country.

Wholly recommended for those who are seeking the deeper path.

When I picked up Will Samson's book I figured I had found an angry author who had an axe to grind against society and the church. Anyone who titled his book, "Enough!" sounded like he was more than a bit fed up with the current state of things. But as Samson, a sociology professor living in Kentucky, started discussing life in this age of consumption I didn't notice much of an edge to his tone.

In the introduction Samson gives a road map for his book. The first six chapters detail various descriptions, stats and stories regarding the cost of overconsumption. He humbly suggests that if a reader is familiar with current issues that they could skip ahead to the next section. I'd suggest otherwise. These chapters are an easy read and provide a good context for the suggestions that follow.

In the next chapters Samson does what other Christian authors have written lately. He hints at appropriate responses to our problem of American greed. There are ways to be more frugal, to live simpler, and to consume more responsibly. But the difference with this book and others in this genre is that Samson's answers are not just based on scripture proof-texts toward a new, Christian, environmental movement; instead he shares a story "of a God who is sufficient, active in the world, and forming a community of co-laborers to manage the created order." It is how Samson describes living out this vision in his own life that really caught my attention. There is a recognizable difference between gathering together with people who are like-minded, and gathering together with those who have like hearts. One is a work force, the other is a family.

Samson ends his story with descriptions of sufficiency and community. It is here that I realize there is no angry exclamation point in the title of his book. "Enough" is not a declaration of judgment; instead it is a calm realization that what we have in Christ, and what we could have with each other, truly is sufficient.

"Enough" will leave you challenged that you have plenty of things, but also leave you aching for more of the expression of community that many of us don't have enough of yet.

Unless you believe exactly like Mr. Samson, look out! There is no one he doesn't hesitate to attack in his ultra-critical book. He goes after Charles Finney (one of the world's greatest evangelists), conservatives, Republicans, people who don't buy organic or grow their own vegetables like he does, end-time preachers, and even the Creation Museum. He also loves to twist Scriptures to fit his own purposes and help support his self-made doctrines. He talks about a "relational tithe," which is nowhere to be found in the Bible. Malachi 3 tells us to bring all the tithes into the storehouse (today's church), not give it to those in need. That is called giving alms. And, no tithing is not under the law. It came way before the law. If your church is misusing the tithe, then you should find another church where you can feel better about giving your money. My church gives away 25% of everything it gets. That 25% goes into local outreaches as well as missionary projects all over the world. If no one tithed to our church but just gave money to each other, how could our church do what it does? It couldn't. Mr. Samson claims that "most evangelical churches don't know much about Jesus." Just because his church is lame doesn't mean they all are. We have excellent churches all over this country who are doing exactly the right thing. Instead of just complaining about his own church experience and judging other Christians, I think Mr. Samson needs to find a "real" church that actually teaches the full gospel message and worry about his own Christianity. You reap what you sow. His judgmentalism of other Christians and churches is going to come back to bite him. I'm all for not being materialistic, but just because someone has money does not mean they are a bad person. Deuteronomy 8:18 says that God gives us the power to get wealth so His covenant will be established. Without money we cannot spread the gospel and advance His kingdom. I, for one, plan on being very, very wealthy. Not for my personal luxury but so I can give big to God's work. And, I know God will provide whatever I need because Matt. 6:33 tells me so. I think just because Mr. Samson's wife is a bestselling author, he somehow thinks that makes him a writer as well. Unfortunately for him it just doesn't work that way. Similar to how you can't get into heaven just because you know people there.