What Happens To My Money If The Bank Gets Robbed?
Answer: Don’t worry about your money in the bank. It’s safe. Very few banks get robbed, and most bank robbers get caught. The few thieves who get away get very little money. Also, the money in the bank is insured. The government guarantees that even if someone stole all the money in the bank, you would still get yours back.
Key verses: [Jesus said,] “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal.
Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves.” (Matthew 6:19-20)
Related questions: If your money in the bank gets stolen, will the bank make it up to you? Why would you put your money in a bank when there’s so much robbery?
Note to parents: Children tend to believe horror stories, especially stories about bank robberies.
Assure your child that a bank is a safe place to put money. Because of tight security, many bank robbers take a very small percentage of the money actually in the bank.
Also remind your child that our ultimate trust is in God, not the bank. In 1929, those who trusted in American banks did suffer losses, but God did not abandon his people.
Why Do Banks Give Interest?
Answer: Interest is a small payment you get for putting your money in the bank.
The bank wants you to let it keep your money so it can loan the money to others.
To get you to do this, the bank pays you a little bit for leaving your money there. The bank pays you interest.
Why does the bank want to loan money to others? So it can make money.
The people who borrow money from the bank have to pay interest on their loans.
The more the bank has to loan, the more interest payments it can collect.
It’s OK for a bank to charge interest because that’s how it makes money.
But we should not treat our family and friends that way.
In Old Testament times, God did not allow his people to charge each other interest.
They were to loan money without charging for it.
Key verses: “You wicked servant!” the king roared. “Hard, am I? If you knew so much about me and how tough I am, why didn’t you deposit the money in the bank so I could at least get some interest on it?” (Luke 19:22-23)
Related verse: Deuteronomy 23:20
Related questions: Why is there more money in my bank account than what I put in? When we put money in banks, the bank should pay us more, shouldn’t it?
Note to parents: You can demonstrate the way interest works by giving your child money to buy candy.
Pretend you are a bank and are loaning the money to him.
He will have to pay it all back plus a penny if he pays you tomorrow, a nickel if he pays in a week, and so on.
Whoever the money belongs to gets to collect the interest.
What Are Accounts?
Answer: An account is a place to put your money in a bank. The money is set aside just for you.
An account is like a piggy bank or an envelope with your name on it at the bank. It’s a way for the bank to keep track of your money.
Your parents, friends, and many other people also have money in the bank.
The bank keeps track of each. person’s money by using accounts.
If three of your friends gave you some money to keep for them, you could keep it in three separate places.
Another way would be to write on a piece of paper how much each person had given to you.
Then you could put all the money in one place. That’s how accounts work at a bank.
All the money is put together, but the bank has a record of how much of your money they have.
Key verse: They gave Hilkiah the high priest the money that had been collected by the Levites who served as gatekeepers at the Temple of God.
The gifts were brought by people from Manasseh, Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, as well as from all Judah, Benjamin, and the people of Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 34:9)
Related verse: Proverbs 22:7
Related questions: Where does the money go? Do you need to have a bank account when you’re older?
Note to parents: You can explain that a bank account is like a piggy bank at home, except that the bank pays you and can hold a lot more.
You might even get out the Monopoly money and play “bank.” You can illustrate a lot and have fun as well.