No one is completely independent of others. We are dependent on others for all of our most basic needs: water, food, clothing, and shelter. While some may make their own clothing, they still need cloth, needles, and thread. Those who grow their own food rely on others to make their tools and the pipes that bring water to their crops.
Humans long ago realized that barter, the trading of goods and services for other goods and services, was not very convenient. The use of money allows the relative value of unequal or indivisible goods and services to be measured; and, it allows one to sell now but not buy until later.
The money itself has no intrinsic value. It is simply a stamped chunk of metal or a printed piece of paper. Actually, in our modern society, money is mostly not even physical. It is merely digits stored in a bank’s computer system. The only thing that gives money it’s value is TRUST.
The entire economy is based on trust
I trust that when I enter my payment information onto a computer screen, the goods that I am ordering will show up on my doorstep in a timely manner, and in good condition. The seller trusts that I am who I say I am and that my credit card company will pay them on my behalf. My credit card company trusts that I will reimburse them (at least the “monthly minimum”) when they bill me.
A high level of trust is good for business. When buyers receive good service and good value they are more likely to buy from that business again. When a manufacturer has trustworthy suppliers, their costs decrease because they do not need to double-check and follow-up on delivery dates or quality. Just as integrity is the key to a well-functioning society, it is also the key to a well-functioning economy.
However, greed and covetousness, which are only too common in our world, can lead to cutting corners and dishonesty. This inevitably results in a breakdown of trust. When people feel cheated, or taken advantage of, they become skeptical and suspicious. They become cautious with their money and cynical about society.
The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
Proverbs 11:3
Trust must be earned
A person with integrity is honest and ethically consistent. He or she always tells the truth and will faithfully fulfill any promises made. People trust and respect people with integrity because of their openness and lack of guile.
Integrity cannot be bought. Neither can trust. In fact, it is a clear sign of corruption when the greedy attempt to buy the good will that they have not earned.
Businesses spend huge amounts of money on advertising to create a “positive public image.” What they should really focus on is quality products, fair pricing, and good service. Let them show their customers how trustworthy they are rather than tell them.
Sometimes one can identify exactly where a business is weakest by noticing where their advertising brags they are the strongest. (For example: In July of 2020, Amazon was running television commercials about how Covid-19 safe their warehouses were for employees. They did this because the safety complaints from their employees had reached the national media and had made the company look bad.).
Place your trust wisely
Don’t be fooled by slick, false, paid-for, “images.” Strive to be an enlightened consumer. Do not give your trust (in the form of money) to corporations which damage the environment, cheat their suppliers, or abuse their employees. Do not buy products or services that will harm your body or offend God.
We will be judged not just on what we do in this life but on what we value. We show what we value by what we spend our time and money on. If we spend our money (show our trust) in support of evil in this life, we will not be trusted with greater riches in the next life.
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
Luke 16:10-11
If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
Image Note: This scene is from the film, Mary Poppins (1964). It is a depiction of what is called “a run on the bank.” When multiple clients lose their trust that a bank (or other financial institution) is solvent, and, in a panic, withdraw their money all at once, they end up causing the very thing they feared.
Sources: David Horsager, “Trust as Currency,” Fast Company, November 20, 2012.
Scott Foreman, “Money IS Trust: An interview with Bill Maurer about the history and future of currency,” Udacity, September 12, 2018.
I think a good example of this trust was played out in Nations in the 1500s. Spain based their monetary system on gold. As they got gold from the new world, they could expand their economy but without the influx of the new gold, they ended up having to default as a nation, which they did many times during that period of time. On the other hand, Sweden for their monetary system used a variation of the gold standard where they put paper money into circulation at a ratio of up to seven times the amount of gold they had. The end result was that Sweden because a strong regional power during that same time period and never defaulted as a nation. They also started issuing credit and the economy expanded. Like your article said, it was all based on trust. Today in our country we have about 2 trillion in currency, but we don’t have that much gold and if you include all the electronic credits and stock valuations, we have over 20 trillion in our economy that is constantly churning. That keeps us moving and it totally built on trust.