The Sparkle of a Diamond: The Carat
In 1949, Leo Robin wrote a jazz song titled Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.
A kiss may be grand
But it won't pay the rental
On your humble flat
Or help you at the automatMen grow cold
As girls grow old
And we all lose our charms in the end
But square-cut or pear-shaped
These rocks don't lose their shape
Diamonds are a girl's best friend
Don’t you love it! “Square-cut or pear-shaped, these rocks don’t lose their shape. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” We lose our shape, we grow old, we do not look as valuable, but those rocks don’t lose their shape or their value.
When you look into the 4 C’s of a diamond, you will find cut, clarity, color, and carat. The carat has an effect on price. Why? Because the carat is determined by weight. So, I looked up the definition of weight and it gave the following… “to attach worth or value to something.” The carat gives the diamond value and worth.
Carl Jones wrote in Diamonds, “A popular advertisement has it that 'a diamond is forever,' against the backdrop of a woman lovingly embraced by a man. Diamonds have always been associated with love, as much as they are associated with wealth. Give a woman a ring and it proves that you really do love her.”
Carl gives four reasons for giving diamonds:
They Symbolize Love
They Are Romantic
They Last Forever
They Hold Memories
I could not agree more with Carl.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 6, we find a part of the greatest sermon Jesus preached called the Sermon on The Mount. Jesus had been teaching on Kingdom living. I can imagine the crowds of people clinging to every word of His teaching. His teaching was different. Take a look at Matthew 6:19-21:
“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” [1]
Jesus was giving a teaching about storing up things in this life that will be destroyed. Things in this life will pass away. Jesus tells us in verse 19 “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth.” Jesus was sharing with the disciples, and those who were sitting on the hillside, what really matters. The word used for store up can be translated to hoard. If you are like me, I don’t want to associate my life with being a hoarder. I have seen the show and it is very hard for me to watch. However, the word in this text means to keep safe that which is of great value.
We need to hoard the right things mentioned in verse 20 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves cannot break in and steal.” What do we need to store up or hoard? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Those are great qualities for us to store up called The Fruit of the Spirit.
As I mentioned the carat earlier, it gives the value or worth to the diamond. Treasures in heaven have value. They have eternal value. Let us store up love. Love for God and love for people. Let us pass along to our kids, grandkids, great grandkids things of eternal value. The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Making disciples who make disciples. Jesus closes in verse 21 that you will find your heart in what you value most.
Last year my mother and my mother-in-law breathed their last breath in this life and opened their eyes in the presence of Jesus. Even though we dearly miss them, their legacy lives on. They left behind memories, jewelry, and diamonds. I have witnessed joy and tears in my daughters as they have been given jewelry from their grandmothers. They realize the love, the value, and the memories each piece carries.
But more than the jewelry or the diamonds, they left behind something even greater. Something with more value. They both lived lives where they stored up treasures in heaven.
Our mothers gave us treasure they stored up in heaven:
They gave us love. Love for God and love for people.
They gave us the Gospel. The Good News of Jesus and how to follow him.
They gave us eternal diamonds. They gave us their heart. Because when we searched their hearts we found their treasure. The things that mattered most in this life to them - Jesus, family, others.
They gave us memories of them. The best of which was the personal relationship they each had with Christ.
The carat of the diamond weight is valuable because it has attached itself to something of value or worth.
What do you value?
What will be your legacy?
Be reminded of this: When your life is over, people will see what you treasured most.
[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 6:19–21). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
