HARD AS DIAMOND (TO SELL)
Though Antwerp, Belgium, is known as the world’s diamond trading hub, Mumbai, India, is where 90% of all diamonds are cut. In 2023, Mumbai opened the world’s largest office building, the Surat Diamond Bourse, to be a one-stop shop for over 65,000 diamond cutters, polishers, and traders. However, today it sits mostly empty, with only 5% of its offices currently occupied. The traditional diamond industry is suffering under a perfect storm of conditions that it might not recover from. Lab-grown diamonds are chemically indistinguishable from mined diamonds, but much cheaper. Sanctions on Russian supplies, tariffs imposed by the United States, a drastic drop in Chinese buyers of large diamonds, and the war in Iran have all played their parts. Diamond broker Dinesh Bhai D. Patel endured through wars, economic downturns, and the 2008 global financial crisis. “But this time is different,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

HARD HEARTS
As God’s people are poised to enter the promised land, God urges them to use everyday family moments to talk about how love for God and others should be evident in our relationships. Centuries later, the Pharisees challenge Jesus to interpret Moses’ words about divorce. Jesus says that if God designed a man and woman to be united in marriage, serial divorce and remarriage is off the table. Divorce was only permitted by Moses because of human callousness.

Questions

• What is your favorite gemstone or precious metal?
• When have you seen an entire industry vanish in a short period?
• How can we avoid developing a hard heart toward God or people?