Why Love Will Always Be a Poor Investment: Marriage and Consumer Culture
Kurt Armstrong
Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2011, 114 pp., $17
Kurt Armstrong knows he is not writing the first book on marriage. However, he also knows marriages are not going well in this country. He has decided to stand up and defend marriage against a consumerist culture that is detrimental to our understanding of love.
This book is a collection of “arguments and honest, true stories” from Armstrong’s personal journey that he uses to stave off the societal beliefs that teach Americans to “…expect to get just what we want. If we don’t, we walk away.” You can see how that attitude could be detrimental to covenantal, loving relationships. Armstrong rails against those selfish perceptions and attempts to undue them with a focus on “the sacrificial, self-giving love of Jesus,” which “is ultimately incompatible with the narrative of consumerism.”
The author clearly says up front this is not “straight forward steps for a husband and wife to follow” to improve their relationship. Each chapter is filled with Armstrong’s anecdotes without a whole lot of clearly consolidated expert advice. While the personal narrative style of this book may make it easier to read and more entertaining for some readers, it also may frustrate any readers looking for more academic content pertaining to specific marital issues.
