How Do We Practice Stewardship Over Our Past?
Often, we think of stewardship in terms of finances or time, but the concept of stewardship extends beyond our bank accounts and calendars. If we view our entire lives – past included – as a gift from God, it changes the way we view stewardship.
Let’s take a look at the life of Paul for some guidance about stewarding our past experiences.
Stewardship of Grace
In Ephesians 3, we see Paul stewarding an experience of grace that he was given in the past. You may remember that he was miraculously and uniquely visited by Jesus on the road to Damascus. That experience changed the course of his life from persecutor to believer; it was a radical moment of grace that Paul knew he was responsible for forever. Addressing his readers, he says, “You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you” (Ephesians 3:2).
Not very many people could say they’d been visited by the ascended Jesus. That was a unique experience that God had given to Paul and, as a result, Paul felt a weight of responsibility to share that life-changing gospel with others. He was a specific steward of the astounding grace he’d been given and recognized that it was not meant for him alone.
Thus, Paul spent the rest of his life stewarding that grace by sharing it with others. While few could say they’d been visited by the risen Jesus, many people could say they’d been visited by the redeemed Paul, who had been visited by the ascended Jesus.
Stewardship of Pain
But that extraordinary experience on the road to Damascus wasn’t the whole of Paul’s story, was it? Prior to meeting Jesus, Saul (as he was known before his conversion) was not a great guy. He was a prideful, murderous man. He caused a whole lot of pain. On the flip side, he also endured a lot of pain; he was beaten, imprisoned, threatened, and eventually killed. Again, we see Paul stewarding those pain-filled experiences.
First, he took responsibility for the pain that he caused by owning it without excuse or justification. The Bible never records Paul in any “I’m sorry, but I didn’t know any better” or any “I’m sorry, but I did all that bad stuff because of ___” type of moment. Just the opposite: he calls himself the “worst of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).
He also took responsibility by trying to stop similar offenses in the future. In the book of Acts, we often find Paul starting his ministry in the same place: the temple. He knew firsthand that the false thinking of the Jewish religious leaders posed a very real danger to Christians, and he worked hard to make a difference in that area. In my opinion, this shows Paul being an active steward of the pain he caused.
On the flip side, in 2 Corinthians 11-12, we see Paul stewarding the pain he experienced as a way to bring glory to Christ and credibility to the gospel. He “boasts” in his hardships, basically saying that serving Christ (and the Corinthian church) was worth anything that he’d endured. Note that Paul is not saying his pain was “good”; after all, the sin done to him was still sin, and that is never “good.” However, when the time was right (more on this below), Paul was willing to let God use that pain for good.
Paul also knew that pain was a part of his calling; the Lord showed him this explicitly (Acts 9:16). Before Spiderman was even a thing, Paul demonstrated that great privilege comes with great responsibility. I think we see him taking responsibility (stewardship) of his calling (a privilege) by praising God through all of it – even the painful parts. I highly doubt that Paul and Silas felt like singing after they were beaten and thrown into prison (Acts 16:25-28). But he took responsibility for what he knew (that he would suffer) and praised God anyway. Talk about whole-life stewardship!
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/ Michael Skok
Stewardship as Guardianship
There are two Greek words used for stewardship in the New Testament – epitropos and oikonomos. Both of them are used to communicate an idea of management, administration, or guardianship – a word I particularly like when it comes to stewarding our own past experiences. Guardianship implies a protective, intentional responsibility.
Just like Paul, God has given us a unique past to steward, one that’s probably not meant for us alone. And that idea of protective, intentional responsibility is key. In this age of social media, it’s pretty easy to share our experiences widely. But a wide reach or large engagement doesn’t necessarily equal stewardship. Being responsible with our experiences often requires more mindfulness than a few pictures, some prayer-hand emojis, and a #blessed or #redeemed caption. Here are a few ways to practice guardianship over our past experiences:
Take time to process. Over 14 years passed between Paul’s conversion experience and his first missionary journey (Galatians 2:1). In light of his experience on the road to Damascus, Paul had to reframe everything he’d ever learned. So, before he shared his past with the masses, he took time to process, allowing God to refine and reinforce His messages of both grace and pain in Paul. We do well when we take time to process our past and run it through the sieve of Scripture as well.
Check your motives. 2 Corinthians 11-12 makes it clear that Paul wasn’t sharing his experiences to get a pat on the back. Rather, he shared about his past when it was Christ’s name on the line, not his own. If sharing about our past feeds our own ego, that’s not stewardship. It’s probably rooted in either false spirituality or false martyrdom, both of which are simply “pride” at their core. Our motive in sharing our past should be amplifying God’s goodness, not our own.
Live it out. People believed Paul’s messages because they saw him live out the words. The early believers were wary about Paul’s conversion. But as he shared about life-changing grace, he showed a life authentically changed by grace. Over time, his present life proved what he said about his past. Likewise, when he said that God “works all things for good” (Romans 8:28), people could see him living out that belief through pain. We, too, should take care that what we say about our past matches how we live in the present.
Practice discernment. At one point the Holy Spirit forbade Paul to minister in a certain place, so he didn’t (Acts 16:6). Many times, he left a place to avoid danger (Acts 9:25). Both represent a sense of protective guardianship over past experiences. Likewise, we can ask God to guide us as we discern how to best steward our experiences. Sometimes, that looks like boldness; other times, it looks like wisely avoiding danger. Both grace and pain in our past can inform responsible, God-honoring decisions in the present.
Take accountability. As mentioned, Paul shows us how to take accountability for past pain we may have caused, without excuses or justifications. He also shows us that it’s important to do our best to work toward making things right and preventing more pain in the future. It’s not about shame – it’s about taking responsibility (stewardship). What that looks like is nuanced and situation-specific. But as we steward those experiences where we’ve sinned, the constants of taking accountability and making amends always remain the same.
Conclusion
Ultimately, stewardship is about reminding us that God is in control and we are not. Again, we often hear this in the context of finances: God’s the owner, and we’re the steward. Matthew 25:14-30 is clear that we’ll give an account one day as to our stewardship over what He entrusted to us.
As we practice whole-life stewardship, we can take a similar approach to our past. None of us have the power to change the past; we have no more control over it. But now that those experiences have happened, we are guardians of both the grace and the pain. To put it another way, God owns those past days, and now we have a responsibility to steward them. Faithful stewardship involves using our past to wisely and humbly bring God glory in the present. What a responsibility and privilege!
Photo Credit: Unsplash/Renel Wackett
Melissa Richeson is a freelance writer and editor for Medi-Share, based in Central Florida. Her work has been featured in places like The Washington Post, Florida Today, Sunlight Press, BiggerPockets Wealth Magazine, WDW Magazine, and many other outlets. As a Medi-Share member, she shares regularly about her positive CCM experience over the past decade. Melissa can often be found in real life at the beach, or virtually on her freelance website.
Originally published March 07, 2025.
