I recently received an email from an online bookstore. The message was about the “Most Expensive Sales in January, February & March.” I became curious and decided to check it out. Here’s a list of the top 10 sales:
- Vincent of Beauvais, Speculum Historiale (1473) $18,900
- Rene Descartes, Les Passions de L’ame (1649) $17,500
- Leonardo de Utino, Quadragesimule Aureum (1471) $16,016
- Rene Decartes, Principia Philosophiae + Specimina Philosophiae $14,535
- JD Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (1951) $14,000
- John Foxe, Actes and Monuments (Foxe’s Book of Martyrs), 6th ed. (1753) $13,000
- Robert Wood & James Dawkins, The Ruins of Palmyra, otherwise Tedmor, in the Desert (1753) $12,926
- Prosper Merimee & Louis Aragon, Illustrated by Pablo Picasso, Carmen des Carmen $12,650
- The Whole Works of Homer (1616) $11,437
- Saxo Grammaticus, Danorum Regum (1514) $11,436
Perhaps a serious book collector will not be surprised at all by the prices of these sales. They reflect how much value the buyers have placed on the books they acquired. But it might be worth asking what sort of value the new owners place on these books. What will acquiring the book actually mean? They give the buyers bragging rights. Most likely, they simply will be trophies to be displayed. I wonder if they will even be read.
Many people still declare that the Bible is valuable. We may claim that we highly value the Bible as God’s Word and may own at least one copy of it. Or we may have digital copies of different versions of scripture in our smart phone or tablet. But we may ask ourselves the same question. What do we really mean when we say that scripture is valuable? What does having a Bible actually mean? Is it just a book to bring on Sundays? Will it just be a book on display on a coffee table? Will it just be a collection of versions, taking up space in my gadget’s storage? Will I take the time to read it? Will I engage myself in putting into practice what I do read?
The true value of scripture is in what it does to touch and transform our lives. Its purpose is “that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3.17 NET). This happens when we actually read it, study it, reflect on it, and apply its truths in our lives. Only then do we show that we truly value the Bible as God’s Word.
—Keith Y. Jainga