TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness… (2 Timothy 3:16 ESV)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• Today, let’s talk about copyrights. We have Margaret Mitchell and the publication of “Gone With the Wind” to thank for the international copyright laws we have today.
GWTW was published in 1936 and when I say it was a global phenomenon, I’m not exaggerating. The book was originally sold for $3 which doesn’t sound like much to us today, but in 1936, that was an astronomical price tag for a book. Especially since our country was just emerging from the Great Depression and on the brink of World War II. Using an inflation calculator, that newly published $3 book would be worth $55.71 today. If you’re a frequent book buyer, you know that today, most new hardback books carry a $24-29 price tag. So even by today’s standards, it was an expensive book.
But people couldn’t get enough of it! And they had the same question that Windies have been asking for decades… “Did Rhett take Scarlett back?” (Windies are GWTW enthusiasts… similar to Star Trek Trekkies.) Since some people couldn’t stand Margaret Mitchell’s vague, “I don’t know” response, they took it upon themselves to re-write and re-publish her book. As a result, thousands of counterfeit copies were published, especially in the international market where American writers had less protection for their work.
It was because of this problem that international copyrights as we know them today came into being.
So why a history lesson on international copyrights?? Because a fake is a fake, even if it’s presented as an original. Let’s tie this back to Scripture.
The following are ideas that have been repeated so often, people assume they are in the Bible:
- Eve ate an apple… the truth—the Bible never mentioned what kind of fruit she ate.
- The 3 Wise Men… the truth—the Bible doesn’t tell us how many; we assume that number because of the number of gifts they brought.
- Money is the root of all evil… the truth—the love of money is the root of evil, not money itself.
- God will not give you more than you can handle… the truth—God does give us more than we can handle so we’ll lean on His strength. What He doesn’t allow is for us to be tempted more than we can bear. There’s a difference.
- God helps those who help themselves… the truth—God wants us to be dependent on Him, so this doesn’t make any sense. If we could help ourselves, we wouldn’t need a Savior.
So, you can see how easy it is to re-write and twist something and sell it as original, when it’s really not. The purpose of today is to remind you — read the Bible. Don’t take my word for it, or anyone else’s. Read it for yourself. Over and over again. The more you read it, the most you know it and understand how to spot the counterfeit, “it sounds Christiany” sayings. After all, no where in the Bible does it say, “Forgive and forget.” Even God does not forget! His Word says He chooses not to remember. And that’s a very different thing. If He forgot, He wouldn’t be all-knowing.
2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Mediate on it and get to know it first hand. Nothing beats the original.
Today, as you pray, thank God for His holy word. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom to understand what is Biblically true and what is not. Ask Him to guide you to a deeper understanding of the Bible.
SHARING ••• Please share with others! Visit www.MyGraceFullLife.com to read past blogs. ***Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture references are from the ESV translation.
