Disqualified: How Are You Stewarding God's Resources? - Luke 16:1-2

 

📖 Scripture:
“Jesus also said to His disciples, ‘There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in to ask, “What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you can no longer be manager.”’
– Luke 16:1–2

🔎 Examination:

There is a fundamental battle raging beneath the surface of everyday life—a battle not primarily of actions, but of perception. The issue is not first what we do, but whether we are living in reality or illusion. Scripture consistently reveals that fallen humanity doesn’t only sin in behavior; we suppress truth itself (Romans 1:18). That suppression produces a kind of spiritual dream-state—a self-crafted narrative where we redefine God, self, sin, and accountability.

This is precisely the danger Christ exposes in Luke 16. The manager is not accused of ignorance but of wastefulness—he has been entrusted with real resources belonging to another, yet he has treated them as though they were his own. This is the essence of sin: not merely breaking rules, but rejecting reality. God is the Owner; we are stewards. To invert that is not a small mistake—it is cosmic treason worthy of death.

The manager’s summons—“Give an account”—shatters illusion. Notice carefully: nothing became real in that moment. Reality was always there. The reckoning simply exposes it. This cuts directly against the lie embedded deep within the human heart—the idea that we can construct meaning, define truth, or delay accountability indefinitely. Scripture dismantles that delusion. Hebrews 9:27 states plainly: “Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment.” There is no alternate ending.

Sunday’s sermon emphasized a “dream within a dream...” It captured a sobering biblical reality: Sin is a deepening delusion that  compounds itself. What begins as a small compromise eventually becomes a fully formed worldview. A person starts by redefining God’s Word, then moves to ignoring it, and eventually to constructing an entirely false version of God—one who affirms sin rather than judges it, who tolerates treason rather than commands repentance. This is not ignorance of the truth; it is the willful exchange of it for a lie (Romans 1:25).

The heart, as Jeremiah 17:9 declares, is “deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” That means we are not neutral observers—we are hostile toward God apart from divine intervention. Left to ourselves, we would never choose to wake up. We dig and dive deeper into the illusion, reinforcing it with cultural affirmation, emotional reasoning, and perverted “theology.”

This is why Scripture insists that God’s Word corrects rather than coddles, and exposes rather than informs. Hebrews 4:12–13 reveals that it “judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart… and everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” The Word does not negotiate with our illusions; it destroys them.

Christ Himself is presented as the ultimate ANCHOR of reality. The LORD is not some philosophical option or religious personal preference—He is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). That exclusivity is offensive to a world committed to self-definition, while simultaneously our only hope. Without an unchanging anchor, humanity drifts away in endless subjective delusion.

The parable of Luke 16 forces the confrontation: Are we managing what belongs to God as faithful stewards, or are we squandering it under the illusion of ownership? Every breath, every resource, every opportunity belongs to Him (Psalm 24:1). The delusion that our time, money, or abilities are “ours” is not just mistaken—it is the very lie that fuels mismanagement.

And yet, the deeper issue is not about stewardship—but identity. The New Covenant does not call for improved management techniques and strategies, but for supernatural transformation through union with Christ. Regeneration awakens us from the dream. The Holy Spirit does not simply inform us of reality; He brings us into it. The Father transfers us from darkness to light (Colossians 1:13), from illusion to truth, from death to life.

This is why religion is so dangerous. It allows people to remain in the illusion while appearing outwardly aligned with the truth. Attendance, volunteering, activity, and theological language may coexist simultaneously with a heart still rooted in sin and self-rule. King Jesus repeatedly exposes this, especially in His rebuke of the Pharisees. Like their father, the Devil, they were experts in religious optics, counterfeits, while disconnected from reality.

The wake-up call in Luke 16 is not gentle. It is abrupt, final, and unavoidable: “You can no longer be manager.” No negotiation, no extension, no appeal. This reflects the certainty of divine judgment. The question is not if an account will be required, but when.

Yet even in this severity, there is grace. The warning itself is mercy. Every moment before that final reckoning is an opportunity to return to reality—to repent, to submit, and to align with truth. People often mistake God’s patience for permission; it is kindness meant to lead to repentance (2 Pet 3:9).

The tragedy is that many hear these divine warnings and choose to remain unchanged. Like those described in James 1:23–24, they look into the mirror of God’s Word and walk away. This is not a failure of understanding—it is a refusal of surrender. The illusion is preferred because it protects autonomy. On the Day of Accounting, no excuse will stand, for as God’s word declares, “all are without excuse” (Rom 1:20).

Autonomy is the root of deception, destruction, and death. In Eden, the serpent’s lie was not primarily about fruit—it was about sovereign authority, i.e., LORDSHIP: “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). That lie persists today in more sophisticated forms, but the essence remains. To refuse submission to God’s Word, to live within a lie, is to choose death.

The call, then, is urgent and uncompromising: WAKE UP! Not gradually, intellectually, philosophically, or religiously, but decisively! Christ does not invite partial alignment; He commands total surrender and obedience: “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

This is not loss—it is liberation. To come under Christ’s lordship is to finally live in truth. Every counterfeit illusion promises freedom but delivers bondage. Christ demands surrender but gives life.

The manager in the parable is forced to face reality. The question is whether you will do so willingly now or unwillingly later. “...at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The difference in timing has eternal consequences.

🤺 Action:

• Test your foundation – “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Is your life anchored in God’s Word and lived out in GOSPEL community as a devoted member of a legitimate local church, or is your life shaped by personal preference and cultural values as an attendee or volunteer of a counterfeit cult?
• Search your stewardship – “Let us examine and test our ways” (Lamentations 3:40). Are you faithfully stewarding all of God’s resources as His, or withholding some  like Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11), and subtly treating them as your own?
• Expose hidden illusions – “Search me, O God…see if there is any offensive way in me” (Psalm 139:23–24). Where have you redefined truth and reality to protect comfort or autonomy?
• Submit to the Word – “Do not merely listen to the word…do what it says” (James 1:22). What specific obedience to God’s word are you delaying? How are you resisting the Holy Spirit?
• Live with urgency – “Test all things; hold fast to what is good” (1 Thess 5:21). Will you act on truth immediately, or procrastinate in your response?

🧠 Reflection:

Reality is not something we create—it is something we either submit to or resist. Christ stands as the unshakable ANCHOR in a world drowning in illusion. His Word cuts through every layer of self-deception, not to harm, but to rescue.

The call is not to refine or revise the dream, but to abandon it and awaken. Not to manage appearances, but to surrender entirely. The One who is calling every steward to account is the same One who bore judgment on behalf of His people. This is both our divine warning and hope.

Every moment spent clinging to illusions is wasted. Every moment surrendered to Christ is eternal gain. The question: when the call comes to give an account, will you be found awake—or still dreaming?

Blessings & love,

Kevin M. Kelley
Pastor

BigIslandChristianChurch.com

Click >>HERE<< for today’s video short

Click >>HERE<< for Sunday’s sermon