NathWChristian asks in a forum:
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There are a lot of poeple who criticize christians for making money using the Word of God.
would it be wrong to write a christian book and sell it?
Matthew 10:8 says “Freely you have received; freely give.”
So, selling christian stuff would be wrong?
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Most of the answers pointed out the obvious:
publishing books costs something
many use the profits for ministry
only one comment suggested reading the context of Mt 10:8 (finally)
Proof-texting is a hermeneutical sin. And only one guy of about 20 called NathWChristian out on it.
Anyway, the context is Jesus sending them out to go do missionary work without him. And “Freely giving...” was in a list of activities Jesus was prescribing alongside healing, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, and casting out demons.
I am pretty sure the disciples were not asking, “So should we be charging money for all this?”
So, I am pretty sure NathWChristian took zero effort to read this.
Here’s my response:
Anything you pay for yourself is worth more to you than getting that same thing for free.
So if you really want people to do what you teach, then don’t give it away for free.
I don’t mean just money.
For example, my freebie isn’t really free. You have to pay for it by giving me your email address. Your email address is not worth nothing. So, there is a little higher likelihood that you will actually do what I teach in it.
But if I just posted it to the web on a blob post. No one would ever care.
Take this to the other extreme.
Set the price of a book at 1000 dollars.
Sure, maybe nobody would buy it. But if someone did, you can be certain the reader will make their eyeballs bleed as they read and re-read that thing till it looked like a Qumran scroll.
That is discipleship.
Paying a price to follow.
Sound familiar?
Raise the price of your book from 7.99 to 19.99.
It’s the Christian thing to do.
Do it for your reader.
What keeps you from raising your price?
Reply to this email.
Blair
P.S. There is a guy who sells a book for 1000. And he makes lots of sales. It is possible to make an enticing case for a 1000-dollar book. But it has to be an amazing offer.