Storing Treasures

Unusual scenes have filled the news recently with hundreds of customers queuing at a time for hours at a time at branches of the Northern Rock Bank. The bank was forced to apply to the Bank of England for emergency funding last week. Northern Rock has struggled to raise money to finance its lending ever since money markets seized up over the summer. These events triggered the panicked withdrawals as uncertainty over the sustainability of the bank grew.

The Newcastle based bank saw three days of long queues at branches up and down the country as customers withdrew more than £2bn of their money - about 8% of Northern Rock's total deposits. It also triggered shares in the bank to fall by 50%.

Customers interviewed on the various news reports showed an overwhelming and understandable concerns over loosing, in some cases, their life savings if the banks problems culminated in a complete collapse of the business. The crisis seems to have been averted with the government stepping in and pledging to protect Northern Rock’s customer’s deposits.

The stampede to the bank by its customers was due to a lack of faith in where they stored their treasures. Where are you investing your treasures?

The bible encourages us to invest and store our treasures in the kingdom of heaven where they can’t be stolen, rust or decay. Matthew 6: 19 – 21

How and where are you investing the treasures you have been given into our Father’s Kingdom?

Reflections This article is the first of many that will be added on the site over the coming weeks and months, reflecting on the things that are happening in the world we live in.  They are designed to provoke thought and prompt discussion.  Please add your comments below.