Before I share a story with you, let’s talk a little about what “Jara” is.
In case you are reading this and you are not a Nigerian, and you are wondering what “Jara” means, let me try and define it clearly.
“Jara” is the small extra portion of a product given to you for free by the seller as an incentive to make you come back to buy more. This is usually practiced when you buy measurable products like rice, beans, or garri.
Now, let me tell you a story.
A lady went to the market and bought a few cups of rice. The seller gave her a very small extra portion of rice as “Jara,” and this made her very happy.
She went home and kept talking so much about the “Jara” she was given. She told everyone how lucky she was to have received “Jara.”
She went on to explain how much she knew God before God touched the heart of the seller to give her that “Jara.” She even said she prayed all night, asking God to grant her favor before the seller so she could receive “Jara.”
She then went to church to give a testimony about how God granted her so much favor, allowing her to enjoy “Jara” from the seller.
To her, she felt very special to God because the seller gave her “Jara.” Anyone close to her who did not get the same measure of “Jara” she received, in her mind, either did not know God or was not favored.
To her, you had to truly know God to enjoy this kind of “favored Jara.”
She flaunted the “Jara” everywhere she went. This “Jara” became the basis for determining the class of people she related with.
If you did not have plenty and visible “Jara,” you were not in her “class” and did not qualify to be around her.
She showed everyone she knew the “Jara” the seller gave her because it made her feel special, important, and different.
If you have followed up to this point and understood what I am saying, you should already be wondering why this woman is making so much noise about such a small addition—something that is not even enough to solve any real problem.
You might even be tempted to ask if the woman is thinking straight, because the “Jara” she got is not even enough to feed her child for a single meal.
Now, here is the point.
This is exactly what many Christians do with the “Jara” God has given to us.
Matthew 6:33
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
What is supposed to be an addition—something secondary and insignificant compared to the things of the kingdom—is what many of us have magnified today.
Money, houses, cars, landed properties, and material possessions are all the “Jara” God has given to us. Yet, many of us focus on and celebrate this “Jara” as if it is the main thing.
In our churches today, most testimonies revolve around the “Jara” people have received from God.
Gone are the days when people testified about how God used them to win souls, heal the sick, or cast out devils. Now, almost all our attention is centered on “Jara.”
This is what many people now use to judge whether you truly know God or not. Some even believe that the more “Jara” you have, the more favored you are by God.
But God never intended for us as Christians to define our lives by how much “Jara” we have or do not have.
Luke 12:15 (GNT)
“And he went on to say to them all, ‘Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be.’”
Be careful not to allow your life to be controlled by “Jara,” but rather by the true values of the kingdom.
Because at the end of the day, “Jara” is only an addition—it was never meant to be the focus.
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