Don't Judge A Person By His Past
By lloydbelleza
@lloydbelleza (1227)
Philippines
March 27, 2009 9:20am CST
Just recently, I have been bothered by this statement, "Don't Judge A Person by His Past".
I thought about an instance of a bad boy reformed to be a better man. He may say that people must judge him of what he is now and not what he was. So people assess him on what he has made himself after those dark days. Indeed, we should not judge the person by his past. Past can be dark but it can lead to a bright future if dealt constructively.
However, what if a well-raised man with good background and attitude did something wrong. Should he be judged of his recent mistake than what he has done all of his life? Should one mistake represent his entire life? Should his past be not the people's basis for judging him and assessing him?
I am just bothered. Maybe, sayings like this cannot be applied to every context. We must see that it suits and fits. At the end of day, we judge based on the principles and values we uphold and not on the sayings that has been passed for ages.
5 people like this
22 responses
@zweeb82 (5653)
• Malaysia
28 Mar 09
I should say that we should judge a person by his fruits. I think that is a more accurate method. It's not only what he has done in his pass but also what he's doing now & also in the future. It should be taken as a whole & not out of context. So I guess this way, your conscience can be clear always!~
1 person likes this
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
Well said. We must see the person of what he is now and what he can be. The present is the fruit of the past.
1 person likes this
@emilie2300 (1882)
• United States
27 Mar 09
I belive what a person dose in there past is there past and for some it makes them stronger.
I belive that because I been there I have had a bad past and would not want to be looked upon that. I belive that every thing happened made me stronger and happened for a reason.
We should not judge those by history nor judge at all. It's what we have to offer and what we are made of it's not right to judge people even by the cover.
I am not a judgemental person because I was judge most of my life because of the way I looked or what I did didn't do.
Be who you are people don't like it oh well I am sorry but we are human we need to be our selves and not try to be like others to impress or be like anyone.
1 person likes this
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
I am sorry that you've been a victim of judgmental people. But I am happy that you've been able to come up stronger despite all of it.
@emilie2300 (1882)
• United States
29 Mar 09
Thank you. Yeah it was rough but I do believe I am stronger now.
@TracyLu (23)
• China
28 Mar 09
It occurs to me suddenly that What has gone is gone.Thus,even we feel deeply regrettable and depressed about our past,there is no need crying the spilling milk.Even we can come back to te past,just as what has depicted in the moive ButterFly, maybe the result will be worse.Thus, try to accept it or forget it,only by which will we be able to face the future.I still remember Master said to me, face who you are when you are afriad to do.In China, there is also a inspring motto said, Never judge a person by his appearance equal to your topic, I mean everyday is a new day, why do we waste our precious time tracing back on those past matters?
Live for forward!!!
1 person likes this
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
29 Mar 09
Yes. Past is past. And that's a good thing you shared about China's motto and the Butterfly movie. Well, indeed, going back to the past is not a good thing, instead we accept it and take it constructively.
@perry2009 (18)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
I do agree with the statement. We just have to be very be careful. Things might change in an instance
@rosa_pearl (70)
• China
28 Mar 09
Sure can not judge one's by his history,eveyone has past,maybe he made big mistake,entering to prosion,but if he come back to socity,we should forgive him and give he a chance.person will change.
1 person likes this
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
It's a good thing you've mentioned forgiveness. Indeed, we need to forgive.
@aabuda (1722)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
Yes, I agree with the statement that we should not judged a person by his past. Because no matter how cruel he may have been in the past, still he has ample time to change for the better. This happened to me. I meet a person who have done something wrong way back before. Something wrong that he may have changed his life to worst. But because he wanted to change for the better, he is now a responsible family man! And such thing should I think be followed by other person too....
1 person likes this
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
29 Mar 09
Truly. Every man deserves a chance to change and be better.
@cyberfluf (4996)
• Netherlands
27 Mar 09
We can judge people on their acts and on their beings. When working with a person we allways look at their direct acts and never judge them as a person, it's a work relationship and only what happens within that relationship counts. There is no reason for your boss or other employees to judge you as a person.
However, we do judge other people on their being, how they are; what makes them unique. Their characteristics. Acts can change in my opinion, the person in side never changes. I might add that I believe a person, their pure being, is never bad. It can be tainted and twisted by experiences and acts, but you are not born this way in my opinion.
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
I am happy that you believe that people are born with natural goodness.
@feathers26 (865)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
the saying sounds good because if the person decides to change
he/she should given the chance to do so and let him/her prove her/himself.
human as we are bound to get mistakes as we are not perfect,
some of the mistakes that we've done in our life are not intentional
they are just circumstancial/situational.
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
And if these mistakes are taken positively it could lead us to the better us. Mistakes should be lessons learned to form us better people.
@mssnow (9484)
• United States
28 Mar 09
Ok so heres my thoughts on what you have said. Say I meet this great man who's past was always good. He was very upstanding and great but all of a sudden this man steals my purse. I would not care about his past. i would only care about how he has stolen from me.So in that instance one wrong move on his part has cost me to judge him harshly, no matter what he did before. So in that instance you can still say "Don't judge a man by his past"
Then say this other guy, who has done nothing right all of his life, finds the man who stole my purse and returns my purse. I would then say this man is great for bringing me back my purse. So it is all how you perceive it.
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
But one instance of our life should not define the entirety of us.
@snowy22315 (179699)
• United States
27 Mar 09
People are not their pasts. I think that they need to bear in mind that there are people who just judge others like they are there judge and jury. I think you need to consider people's pasts but the pasts are not necessarily who they are.
1 person likes this
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
27 Mar 09
Yes yes.
As they say, we should not be prisoners of our past but let our past lead us to the better us.
As they say, we should not be prisoners of our past but let our past lead us to the better us. @tschu8 (136)
• United States
27 Mar 09
Good question. I think that a person should looked at for who they are. Some of the bad choices a person has made all comes together to make them who they are today. A bad boy turned into a better man can be looked at as just that. A good man. And the bad boy part was just a part of getting to be the good man that he is now. He has learned from the past to become the person that he is. And a guy who has always been a good boy and has made a bad decision is just that. We all make mistakes and yes his past should be taken into the equasion. I do not know if you have ever watched any of the judge shows on TV and I think that it is Judge Joe Brown but the start of every show talks about his time he was in trouble on the streets and that he did his time and turned his life around. And his past is a part of where he is today.
1 person likes this
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
27 Mar 09
Yes. Past should not be discounted to the person we are now. Past is what makes us what we are now. But past is past. What and who we are is what and who we are at present.
@jjstream (313)
• United States
27 Mar 09
In our society, it seems that people can harshly judge others as way to make themselves feel better about their own situation. We all make mistakes, all the time. The idea is not to repeat them in the future. Someone said once, that the choices that we make dictate the life that we lead. Unfortunately, we can't control what aspects of our past we would like others to judge us on.
1 person likes this
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
People must learn to see that what they do to others will be done unto them. In that way, people would understand others and learn not to judge just to make people feel bad.
@snow8515 (169)
• China
27 Mar 09
I think the first impression is so important that it is quite difficult for others to change attitudes towards him though he would do something opposite later. And different people have different standards to judge a person. Also no one is complete good one while no one complete bad one. As for me, I always consider him/her a good person as long as he/she hasn't done any fragitious things.
1 person likes this
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
We just need to be careful of what we think and say about other people.
@abhichat1980 (250)
• India
28 Mar 09
Past is always a part of ones life. You may try to run away from it but you cannot hide from it. Someday it will come to the forefront of your life. Now the way i judge a person is simple. i always start gauging a person from the time i meet them with the belief that everybody is a good person. I don't change this view until and unless i am forced to by incidents that happen in front of me. I never allow a persons past to influence my current judging of the person. I believe life goes on by trusting each other and I generally trust everybody and rarely it is broken. Yes one or two times i have been proven wrong but whats the big deal what about the other 90% of times when i get along with people along with a mutual trust.
1 person likes this
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
Yes, we cannot hide from our past but we shouldn't be prisoners of it either.
@p3halliwel2005 (3156)
• Philippines
27 Mar 09
This is very true indeed. Never judge a person from his past. We should look ahead and not linger on anybody else past. I believe some people learn from his past mistakes and makes a better advancement to the future. Who are we to judge others when we are not perfect ourselves.
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
Yes, we don't have the right to judge people and point out their flaws because we have all our flaws too.
PS. Nice photo. I love Charmed and Paige's white lighter power.
@checapricorn (16061)
• United States
6 Apr 09
[i]Hi lloyd,
I have tried judging people base on their past but I always want to correct it since I know a lot of people who have done wrong in the past, learned from their mistakes and improve a lot.
We can't avoid this as a human being but the bottom line is, we have to learn to accept them as who they are and since we are not perfect also, we will try our best to understand that we are just so lucky not to have a dark past as they have and if we can be an instrument to help them to move on, then, that is a great challenge as well as fulfillment if we will succeed![/i]
@Anne19 (300)
• Philippines
27 Mar 09
I like that sayings. Sounds so new. And I agree with that. Past is what makes us what we are right now. People changed as they decide and act upon those things and more often than not it will cause them consequences that will subsequently make men stronger.
1 person likes this
@lloydbelleza (1227)
• Philippines
27 Mar 09
Yes, indeed. Our past forms us to be the persons we are now. But it should not define the entirety of ourselves.
@irenebelle (116)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
This statement really catches me. "Don't Judge A Person By His Past". Judging is not the solution to such a person, but rather giving the chance to let the person grow more to become a better one. Coz, one factor for changing the past is to let the community accept as what he is to become for the future not live by the past. Past is past let's not critize the person. But rather to love and accept as he is. Since no one in this world of ours is born to be perfect enough. Let the past serve as the challenge but not the basis to judge a person. By giving the chance to the person makes his life more meaningful and to live for the better ahead. Someone's whos not giving the chance has to be perfect enough that he himself be as perfect as the word PERFECT implies.
1 person likes this
@robotdwight (9)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
oh i agree with the statement, "don't judge a person by his past". Past is past as they say and more often we learned from it which we try to change if it is a bad event. Well, the judgment should be at present. On how is doing right now. What's the things he's/she's doing. Then evaluate it if it is good or bad. In there we come up with our conclusion which is the basis of our judgment.
@angelachristine24 (22)
• Philippines
28 Mar 09
Humans by nature is just too judge-mental, it really takes a lot of understanding and maturity for some one to accept the past mistakes of the others... on the other hand, this mind setting is also hard to avoid for we have also known to repeat our mistakes as a human.
