One comforting gift of the past is that it is past. It’s gone forever! In the words of Oscar Wilde, the 19th century Irish writer, poet, and playwright, “No man is rich enough to buy back the past.” Even if you were rich enough, it is impossible to buy back time in the past.
The past captures everything you did or failed to do. It is that time of your life when you experienced what is shameful, painful, and ugly. The past represents spilled-milk experiences—lost opportunities, costly mistakes, shipwrecked relationships, lost innocence, and indelible records. The past is also what or who you were, the person you were back then.
But the past is the past for a reason: It is past. Whatever happened has happened. You cannot unscramble the scrambled egg. You cannot unspill the spilled milk. What’s done is done, and cannot be undone. There’s absolutely nothing you can possibly do to change the past. You cannot go back to correct what you did or didn’t do. You cannot edit, re-write, nor erase it. It’s a permanent record. Therefore, don’t deny your past, don’t excuse it, don’t try to hide it or shy away from it, and by all means don’t use it as a crutch.
The past is forever part of you. It’s now part of your history. Own it as such, for it has shaped or influenced who you are today. While you may not like the mistakes and misfortunes of your past, there’s no use crying, complaining, or worrying about them. “Your regrets will not turn back time. So don’t waste your time in anger, regrets, worries and hate. Because time will not turn back and cry along with you. It’s time to let go of the past and stop worrying about the future. Your only time is now” (Julius Sevilla).
Don’t allow the past to destroy you, deter you, or defeat you. Though the past describes where you’ve been, it ought not prescribe where you should go. Learn from it, apply its lessons, and grow from it. You cannot change your past, but you can choose your destiny. Take ownership and responsibility for your past, but refuse to let it define who you are or what you can do.
Your enemies and opportunists may try to exploit your past for their selfish gains and cheap fame. Ignore them. Your critics and those with unresolved issues may try to whitewash their own dark history by dwelling on yours. Don’t give them the brush. Remember, every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. Thus, when folks dig up your past, reconstruct it, and try to re-settle you there, tell them you’ve moved on and have no desire of ever living there anymore. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Your new dwelling place is “in Christ.” So, let go of your past.
Thankfully, the past is what or who you WERE, not the new person you are now. God’s grace and mercy has transported you from a despairing past to a hopeful present. Listen to these contrasting realities of condemnation and assurance:
“Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such WERE some of you. BUT YOU WERE washed, BUT YOU WERE sanctified, BUT YOU WERE justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).Praise the Lord for the triple amazing “buts” of the past: washed, sanctified, and justified (v. 11)!
The past is for reflecting, not reliving. Therefore, when the past knocks at your door, tell them it’s the wrong address. You don’t live there any more. The past is past. Don’t buy it back. You’re richer without it.—Samuel Koranteng-Pipim
© Samuel Koranteng-Pipim: Permission is granted to share thought nuggets from this website provided they are reproduced in full and are for non-commercial use only. Pertinent quotes can also be excerpted from the nuggets and shared with others. Users of both nuggets and/or quotes must acknowledge Samuel Koranteng-Pipim as the author and give the appropriate EAGLESonline link as the source.
SAMUEL KORANTENG-PIPIM,PH.D. , is a US-based Ghanaian author, inspirational speaker, leadership trainer, and an advocate for youth empowerment. He was trained in engineering and systematic theology, and has authored more than twenty books. They include his bestselling works Hope Through the Dark, Six More Chances, Healed Wounds but Ugly Scars, and Patience in the Midst of Trials and Afflictions. Dr. Pipim currently directs two Centers for Leadership Development known as EAGLES (Empowerment & Advisory Group for Leadership, Excellence, & Service) and ANANSE (African Network & Advisory for Needed Services & Excellence). www.EAGLESonline.org. He also serves as a special consultant on Bible projects for Remnant Publications. 