It is understood that early banking was invented around 2,000 BC by Babylonian priests who stored people’s gold for a fee and gradually they realised that they could lend some of that gold to others and earn interest. Eventually, the system of modern banking was developed in Lombardy in Italy in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries where moneylenders worked on wooden benches to encourage people to save with them and to take out loans. Indeed, the name ‘bank’ comes from the Italian word for ‘bench’. And if the moneylenders cash ran out then the bench would be broken in half and business would cease. The rotten bench was declared banca rotta from where we get the word ‘bankruptcy’.
Banks are a remarkable invention as they serve various functions in the community. Their first function is to store money on behalf of other people. These are people who deposit their money in the bank and assume that it will be kept safe. Today, much of that money is stored digitally as in the past ten years the use of actual cash has diminished in British society by seventy percent. The best example of a bank holding vast fortunes in Britain is the Bank of England which today stores about 400,000 bars of gold worth £200 billion. It amounts to a fifth of all the gold in the world and if each bar was stacked on top of each other the height would be the equivalent to forty-six Eiffel Towers. The gold covers over 300,000 square feet which is the equivalent of ten football fields.
The second key function of banks is that they enable us to pay for things we need. Bank accounts mean that we don’t have to carry huge amounts of cash to pay for everything. We can use cheques, credit cards, debit cards or faster payment methods on the Internet or through banking apps. This has speeded up payments and in the UK every second £8 million worth of money transactions are made. That is £700 billion worth of exchange between bank accounts every day. If everything had to be cash transactions such amounts would be impossible. This is digitally controlled and banks settle up with each other at the end of each day. These settlements are made through the Bank of England and in 2020 that Bank processed nearly £92 trillion worth of payments.
The third function of banks is to match borrowers with savers. The banks act as a sort of middleman between those who want to save and those who want to borrow. Banks keep very detailed information on their customers and instantly know if someone will pay back any loan given to them.
Today, there is much disquiet about the quality of banking in the UK. Branches are closing down in many places leaving some towns with no bank branch at all. This is all a means of cost cutting to increase profitability in order to yield higher dividends for shareholders. The financial crisis of 2007-2008 undermined confidence in bankers some of whom were earning millions of pounds in bonus payments. Also some banks have been accused of money laundering on a grand scale. Though many have lost trust in banks there is little alternative to using them.
Thankfully, one day, all this system will be done away with and an eternal system directly under God’s control will be the order of the day. We are told in Scripture not to trust in earthly banks because we can lose everything but to look for our treasure to be stored in Heaven where no one can steal it, it never loses its value and it can not change for the worse. How do we lay up treasure in Heaven? It is by trusting the Lord Jesus as our Saviour and letting Him rule our lives. It is by doing His will and fulfilling His desire for our lives. As we serve Him in faithfulness and devotion so God sees and builds up our treasure in Heaven. These are not the fading material treasures of earth but the spiritual, eternal and satisfying treasures of Heaven. Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven…for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” May we have an eye for the future by lifting up our hearts to the Lord for His leadership and guidance each day.
DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (02/10/25)
Written by PAUL YOUNG
All photos courtesy of Unsplash
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