Often in the world of money, cash is king, has been a pun that has been used to demonstrate the importance of cash. However, in recent years, the use of electronic payment has increased significantly, to the point that now, electronic payment has eclipsed cash in the UK. It has been reported in the Guardian that notes and coins are set to fall to just 21% by 2026. Britain has moved beyond peak cash and as a result, a section of society is now faced with the fact that cash no longer is king and instead card has eclipsed cash as a daily transaction.
A generation is on the horizon who will become unfamiliar with cash and instead see card payments as a main means of transactions. Interestingly, Money Saving guru Martin Lewis has always insisted cash has always been the best means of transactions for people who want to manage their finances or are in financial challenges.
Even in places such as pubs like Wetherspoons, cash transactions have been declining year on year by 5%. A further point to note is that with contactless payments, there is usually a minimum £5 transaction, which means that a purchase of £2 needs to be rounded up to £5, (resulting in unnecessary purchases to round up to £5). Our society has become so materialistic that we are prepared to buy even the things that we don’t want, to the point of wasting money.
The original form of a transaction was bartering – the exchange of items for alternative items. The original form of offerings, before monetary forms, was in animal livestock and crops.
It appears we are moving into a season of spending, where we will lose sight of the value of things being purchased and the worth.
Robert Reich (Economist and Former US secretary of Labour) said, ‘there will be a time – I don’t know when; I can’t give you a date – when physical money is going to cease to exist ‘.
Proverbs 3:9-10 reads, Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
Whatever we do, we must always put God first. He will honour our actions and our sacrifice. May we be blessed, in thought and in deed, as we make Jesus King of our lives.