Yap Moonstones, and You

One of the podcasts I listen to with almost religious devotion is NPR’s Planet Money.  The podcast explains complex ideas from economics in easy to understand ways.  A few weeks ago the podcast addressed a question that I always wondered about.  What is money?  It seems like a fairly basic question.  Money is such a central part of our lives, but it has no intrinsic value.  It meets none of our basic needs.  It is simply something we all agree has worth.  

The planet journalists at planet money illustrated this fact by exploring the development of currency on the island of Yap.   The Yapese initially had a barter system, so if you wanted my two pigs you might trade me 13 coconuts.  Each of these items serves some real function in terms of human need.  However, Yapese sailors discovered large limestone deposits while exploring the coast of New Zealand.  Some enterprising fellow thought it would be interesting to carve a giant wheel from the limestone and carry it back to Yap on his outrigger.  

Ultimately these stones became a surrogate for the trading of goods.  So if I wanted your two pigs I might give you my giant stone.  However, the stones were difficult to move, so more than likely the stone would remain in front of my house, but would belong to you.  There’s even a story of a stone that fell from an outrigger while being transported.  The fact that the stone was sitting on the bottom of the ocean, did not decrease its use as money.  It was still traded between Yapese.  

The striking truth is that monetary systems, whether Yapese moonstones or US dollars, are based on faith.  We all agree to believe that a dollar is worth whatever it is worth at any given moment and the cumulative effect of our choices makes it so.  

Jesus lived during the rise of a universal Roman currency.  For this reason he talked a lot about the relationship between faith and money.  Jesus’ most powerful statement on money and faith is found in Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6:24-34).  Jesus notes that we cannot serve both God and money.  One faith will ultimately win out.  If we end up putting our faith in money, we will be filled with worry, but faith in God leads to freedom from worry.