Community-based Banking (11) Trust

A Christian community should be full of trust. This is a huge advantage, as money functions best when people trust the other people in their community. When people accept money, they are trusting other people in their community to accept it in exchange for goods or services. They do not have to trust everyone in the community, but they will need to know there are enough trustworthy people in the community to give credibility to the community-based money. They also need to know that the record-keepers in the community can be trusted.

Money represents a debt of the community. The value of money depends on the people of the community honouring its obligation. There is a strong biblical basis for honouring community-based money. Paul said,

Give to everyone what you owe them… Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another (Rom 13:7-8).

These are commands to the Christians community to honour its obligations. They are the basis for a money recording system.

The transactions recorded by record-keepers are the obligations of the community. They are not the obligations of the record-keeper, or the bank. The record-keeper just records the debts and obligations of people in the community. If the community breaks down and ceases to honour its obligations, or fobs them off to someone else, the obligations that have been recorded may prove to be worthless.

The leaders of a community will want to protect the reputation of their community. They will ensure that all debts of their community are met. The stronger the community, the greater will be the trust in money records of the community.