FDIC and Faith

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FDIC and Faith

MP4 Video - 720p (55.35 MB)
MP3 Audio (839.84 KB)
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The FDIC insures your bank accounts. Do you have faith in the government?

Transcript

 

[Steve Myers] It seems you can't turn anywhere without hearing about the economy, the finances, maybe the fiscal cliff has been on everyone's mind. One of the things that I ran across the other day which was a stark reminder of some of these things was this little sign that we've got on the blackboard today. The FDIC, that's the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It was established by the government all the way back in 1933 in order to ensure depositors' money. Now, normally it's been up to $250,000 you can have insured. But since 2008, the government has said that they would insure any deposits, but like so many things and that fiscal cliff that's approaching, that is going to end on December 31st.

[Darris McNeely] I remember seeing this sign for years and years when I first opened my first checking account as a young boy, and of course, being reassured by that…

[Steve Myers] It makes you feel good.

[Darris McNeely] Yes, it does. But also, I felt real good when I opened my first brokerage account with what was then called Merrill Lynch, and my broker then told me that, as he pulled out a dollar bill, he said that Merrill Lynch is as good and strong and faithful as General Motors. And so…

[Steve Myers] The world has changed.

[Darris McNeely] The world has changed. No more Merrill Lynch, and General Motors has gone through its troubles. So when you're looking at trust, insurance, where do we really put it?

[Steve Myers] Right, do you put it in the government? That's what's so remarkable about this sign. Have you ever read what it actually says? In the smaller print on the left side it says, "Backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government." Our system is based on faith. But it's based on faith in our government? Is that really where our faith should be based? I think we've begun to see how far that really takes us when it comes to the economy, when it comes to finances that if we put our faith there we've really misplaced our trust, haven't we?

[Darris McNeely] Well, we have to put a certain amount of confidence I suppose because we are a part of a system in the United States, or whatever country we live in, with our banks and its regulatory commissions and certainly the trust in a governmental structure. But as we were seeing, that is rapidly changing even at that level and there are some major, major problems ahead, which points us probably to a larger lesson of faith we need to learn.

[Steve Myers] Yeah, and the larger lesson, we've got to put our faith in God. 1 Peter 1:4, Peter begins this letter by directing us not to the government for our subsistence and where we can find our trust and our faith and things we can count on. Instead he points us to God where he says, "There's an inheritance incorruptible" - that's in verse 4 of 1 Peter - "and undefiled and that does not fade away." It's not something that's going to end on December 31st. It's not something that we have the possibility of losing. When we put our full faith in God, he says, "You are kept by the power of God through faith." That's where we have to put our trust. That's where we have to put our confidence. It can't be in the deposit insurance corporation. It can't be in the government. It can't be in our bank accounts. It's got to be based on our faith and trust in a relationship with God.

[Darris McNeely] We're forced to have a measure of confidence in human governments and human institutions, but put our full spiritual faith in God.

[Steve Myers] That's BT Daily. We'll see you next time.