The power of enough

I am part of a consumer society bent on finding happiness in the acquisition of more stuff. The average house in the 1950s was 900 square feet and often built without a garage. In the 1970s the average house was 1,400 square feet, with a double garage. The average home today is 2,300 square feet, with the triple garage becoming the new standard. Why do we need all that space? It’s not because of larger families. We need it to store stuff.

Licensed cars in the United States now exceed the number of licensed drivers. When is enough enough? How do we get off this consumer merry-go-round of anxiously getting more and more stuff?

1. Enough is not created by circumstances.

The Apostle Paul writes, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11). Paul was writing out of the deprivations of being a prisoner of Rome. “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty” (v.12). Paul’s contentment did not depend on good circumstances. Often we think, If I just had a little more, I’d be satisfied. If I could have a car with 50,000 fewer miles. If I could get a new outfit once a season. If I/we could go out and eat once a week, then I’d be happy.

In his book The Power of Enough, Lynn Miller writes: “We are here, the TV tells us, to be consumers: to buy and accumulate and store and buy more. We are here to be consumers because consuming will make us happy! The problem is, it isn’t working. We’re not happy! . . . In the U.S. we have more stuff than anyone in the world at any time in history, but we still are not happy.” Miller notes that the best-selling medication in the United States is Xanax, an anti-anxiety pharmaceutical.

2. Enough is an acquired behaviour.

In Philippians 4:12, Paul writes, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Enough is an educated mindset; it is an adjusted attitude; it is an acquired behaviour.

Part of this learning is recognizing the cultural lies and saying no to them. One of the cultural lies is that you are a consumer. That label implies that you are a person of bottomless appetite. You were created to use things and use them up. But you were not created to use stuff up; you were created to take care of God’s stuff. So when you are labelled a consumer by that TV commentator, talk back. “I am not a consumer. I am a caretaker of God’s creation. I am a citizen of God’s kingdom.” That is my identity. Caretakers and citizens behave differently from consumers.

3. Enough is not readily experienced.

Paul calls enough a “secret.” It is counterintuitive. It is countercultural. Our culture is saturated with more, bigger, better, stronger, newer or – if you are into antiques – older.

Trying to be more than we are by owning or wearing something does not work because there is no end to it. Someone else always has more.

4. Enough is essentially a spiritual reality.

In Philippians 4:13, Paul lets out the secret: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” I can live in contentment through Jesus Christ. I can renounce the cultural lies and live in the enough of being blessed by God.

What’s true for Paul is also true for the Christians at Philippi. “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (v.19). Do you need significance? Get it from Jesus as a son or daughter of God. There’s nothing you can buy that comes close. Do you need security? Get it from Jesus as your Protector and Provider. There’s nothing you can buy that will make you more secure. Do you need purpose? Get it from Jesus and join Him in the kingdom work of restoring this planet and its people to God’s shalom. There’s nothing you can buy that will give you greater purpose.

Clarence E. Rempel is a pastor at First Mennonite Church, Newton, Kan. This article was first published in The Mennonite, April 20, 2004, and is used by permission.