Money is really, really important. Money allows us to exchange goods and services. We could barter. I could provide Barry with lessons in Contract Bridge, in exchange for rhubarb from his garden. But, suppose Barry doesn’t want lessons in Bridge? (So far as I know, he doesn’t!) I could earn money teaching Bridge to somebody else, and use it to pay Barry for his rhubarb. So, initially, money was just a means to extend barter.
When people have more money than they need at any particular time, they can store it under the mattress, or they can deposit it in a bank. The bank can then lend money to people who need it now to set up some sort of business providing goods and services efficiently. Once the business is set up, the profits it generates are used to repay the loan. But when the bank lent my money, it created money, because my balance is the same as if they hadn’t lent it, but the borrower has the money as well.
But who issues the money? Who controls how much there is, and, especially, who controls the rate of increase of money?
This is very important, because the money supply is crucial. If too much money is being created, it becomes worth less when measured against the commodities, or to put it the other way round, prices increase. This is called inflation. For growing economies, a little inflation is a good thing, but too much leads to instabilities, and to hardship for people on fixed incomes.
If too little money is being created, there isn’t enough to allow all the economic activity that is potentially available, and the goods and services that people want don’t get provided.
Until recently, money was being provided at much too high a rate, and some commodities were increasing in price, especially housing, but others weren’t, because they were being provided by new economies, especially China, who were prepared to provide them extremely cheaply in order to get huge reserves of Western currency.
But it turned out that the housing assets weren’t worth anything like the amount that everybody thought they were, because the people who took out the loans to buy them couldn’t pay back the loans. Banks didn’t worry too much about this, because the houses were, apparently, increasing in value at an ever increasing rate. For some reason which escapes me, everybody theoretically realised that this couldn’t go on indefinitely, but acted as though it could.
But then it all crunched, and the whole system came crashing down, with consequences it’s probably best we don’t think about.
So this money, which we invented for our use, has caught us in a huge trap from which it will be hard to escape.
Sometimes, when these things have happened before, people have abandoned official money, and invented local money which acts like baby-sitting tokens. I bought a splendid book about this, called ‘Money’ by Thomas A Greco Jr, which describes these alternative systems. I’m surprised that nobody has raised these sorts of schemes, and also that nobody has talked about credit unions, which are local micro-financing, banks.
It’s somewhat ironical, perhaps, that those on pension, or any other kind of benefit will see increasing income. Those who work for government, national and local, and other wealth spending organisations, will see increasing income. Those who work in industry or commerce, the wealth generators, may very well see no increase, or even decrease. It is to be hoped that the chancellor’s statement tomorrow will help these in particular.
So what is the Christian response to money?
Well, firstly, we are not to worship anything which we have created. It’s called idolatry, and it is condemned throughout the Bible. But do we worship money? Surely taking money seriously is not worship? We have to balance our household accounts, and our church accounts, or calamity will ensue. Eventually we’ll have to, because the people we owe money to will send the bailiffs round, and they, under the authority of a court order, will take goods to the value of the debt.
And we need to make good decisions about where to spend our money, how much to save, and where, and so on. These are all necessary, responsible, Christian ways to behave.
But sometimes we do, or some do, forget what it is that money represents. My money represents the goods and services that I have provided, and the goods and services that I can obtain with it. And my ability to choose which goods and services to buy gives me a certain amount of power. And the more money I have, the more power I have, and that includes the power to make more money at the expense of people who have much less of it. Thus supermarkets can dictate the price and the terms they give their suppliers. Multi-national companies can dictate terms of world trade. And power is attractive and addictive, and therefore gets worshipped.
And we assume that money will bring happiness, although research shows that happiness increases with wealth up to a point, after which happiness is flat, or decreases. And, in the West, that point was reached in the sixties.
So we don’t need to assume that forthcoming poverty is going to make us miserable. There will be adjustments to make, and that’s always painful, but, if we can’t afford to drive, let’s walk or cycle. Better for us in all ways. If we can’t afford enough houses to live apart, let’s learn, again, to live together. If we can’t afford fast food, let’s re-learn slow cooking. These things will probably make us happier.
But especially let’s recognise that our King is not money, but Christ. When things get tough, our faith gets going.
I personally am so secure at the moment that my faith is not greatly exercised. About the only time I need to exercise faith is on the threshold of a funeral visit, especially when I know the death is difficult for some reason. Otherwise, I’m pretty secure. I can afford to buy anything I want, my health is sound, my family relationships are good, I’m liked and respected in several circles. This hasn’t always been so in any of those aspects. I have been poor; my faith saw me through. I have been ill; it provided a great boost to my faith. I have had difficulties in my relationships, and my faith has seen me through. And I have faith that it will see me through again.
So many Christian writers tell of the times when life has been really tough, and God has felt really close, and life has been good. It is the hallmark Christian experience. And it comes from obeying the command, to love God with every available resource, and neighbour as self. Joyful worship really does combat woes. Concern for the other really does put concern for myself into perspective. Recognition that actually all those possessions we had but have no longer, or perhaps never had, all actually belonged to God, and were simply on loan to us, helps us, with Paul, to be content in times of plenty and in times of scarcity.
And when health fails, we know that he will sustain us, and will be with us through it all, including the final and greatest adventure.
So don’t worship money – worship Christ! Amen