Gary talks about his decision to sell his comic book collection, as well as the concept of collecting and value as a whole.
The story of Paradise thus gives us important information about the origin and meaning of precious metals and stones, and therefore of money as well. Right from the beginning, God placed value upon gold and gems, having created them as reflections of His own glory and beauty. The original value of precious metals and stones was therefore aesthetic rather than economic; their economic significance grew out of the fact that they were valued for their beauty. Aesthetics is prior to economics.
Historically, gold came to serve as a medium of exchange precisely because its value was independent of, and prior to, its monetary function. Gold is not intrinsically valuable (only God possesses intrinsic value); instead, it is valuable because man, as God’s image, imputes value to it. Biblically, a medium of exchange is first a commodity, an item which men value as such. Scripture always measures money by weight, by hard currency (Lev. 19:35-37), and condemns all forms of inflation as a debasement of currency (Prov. 11:1; 20:10, 23; Isa. 1:22; Amos 8:5-6; Mic. 6:10-12).
God has placed value upon precious metals and stones, and He has built in us an attraction for them; but He has also made it clear that these things cannot be permanently owned or enjoyed apart from fellowship with Him. The ungodly are allowed to mine for these materials, and to own them for a time, in order that their wealth may ultimately be possessed by the restored people of God:
Though he [the wicked man] piles up silver like dust,
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay;
He may prepare it,
But the just shall wear it,
And the innocent will divide the silver. (Job 27:16-17)
To the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that He may give to one who is good in God’s sight (Eccl. 2:26).
He who increases his wealth by usury and extortion, gathers it for him who will be kind to the poor (Prov. 28:8).
Indeed, there is a basic principle that is always at work throughout history: “The wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous” (Prov. 13:22), “for evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait on the LORD will inherit the earth” (Ps. 37:9). A God-fearing nation will be blessed with abundance, while apostate nations will eventually lose their resources, as God inflicts the Curse upon rebellious people and their culture.
Paradise Restored
Plowing through the often-difficult terrain of Soteriology, Eschatology, and Hermeneutics, David Chilton presents a simple and coherent vision for Gospel fruitfulness, Gospel effectiveness, and eventually, Gospel victory.
Buy NowGary talks about his comic book collection and his decision to sell much of it to another collector. He discusses the comic book industry and its history, as well as the concept of collecting and value as a whole.