The Barter System
"1 Timothy 6:10 Fir the love of money is the root of all evil."
There is much truth to be found in this verse when we observe what is taking place in the world today. If you watch those with money, they are looking for ways to cut others down to obtain more money. Once they have it, the fear of losing it pushes them to do corrupt and sometimes evil things to keep those without money repressed; to maintain power and control.
Maybe we should look at going back to some old ways where money was not always necessary to meet our needs. As far back as 6000 BC, people used the barter system which was introduced by Mesopotamia tribes. A barter economy is a cashless economic system where people trade goods or services with another person. There are even cultures in modern society who still use this type of exchange.
Bartering does have many advantages; the main one is you do not need money to barter. There is also flexibility as you can trade related items or products that are entirely different. And if you do not have a product or item to exchange, you can offer a service.
Of course, this system does have disadvantages. You need to ensure the person you are trading with is trustworthy so you know the goods or services you are exchanging for are not poor or defective. It may be wise to limit exchanges to family and close friends until you acquire good bartering skills and experience.
Bartering today is much more sophisticated because of access to the internet. You can exchange items through online auctions or swap markets, so you have a much larger pool of people to barter with. You can even exchange your home with someone in another state so you both have a relatively inexpensive vacation.
Perhaps the world is so deeply entrenched in the use of money that we may never be able to break away from it. However, if we make a conscious choice to barter for goods and services whenever possible, it could make our lives a bit less stressful as we try to provide for our families. Of course, the way things are going, the use of money may come tumbling down like a house of cards some day and we will have to barter to survive.
There is much truth to be found in this verse when we observe what is taking place in the world today. If you watch those with money, they are looking for ways to cut others down to obtain more money. Once they have it, the fear of losing it pushes them to do corrupt and sometimes evil things to keep those without money repressed; to maintain power and control.
Maybe we should look at going back to some old ways where money was not always necessary to meet our needs. As far back as 6000 BC, people used the barter system which was introduced by Mesopotamia tribes. A barter economy is a cashless economic system where people trade goods or services with another person. There are even cultures in modern society who still use this type of exchange.
Bartering does have many advantages; the main one is you do not need money to barter. There is also flexibility as you can trade related items or products that are entirely different. And if you do not have a product or item to exchange, you can offer a service.
Of course, this system does have disadvantages. You need to ensure the person you are trading with is trustworthy so you know the goods or services you are exchanging for are not poor or defective. It may be wise to limit exchanges to family and close friends until you acquire good bartering skills and experience.
Bartering today is much more sophisticated because of access to the internet. You can exchange items through online auctions or swap markets, so you have a much larger pool of people to barter with. You can even exchange your home with someone in another state so you both have a relatively inexpensive vacation.
Perhaps the world is so deeply entrenched in the use of money that we may never be able to break away from it. However, if we make a conscious choice to barter for goods and services whenever possible, it could make our lives a bit less stressful as we try to provide for our families. Of course, the way things are going, the use of money may come tumbling down like a house of cards some day and we will have to barter to survive.
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