Sarbjeet Kaur
This quote was written by a famous poet of his time, Oscar Wilde, with a deep and thoughtful meaning behind it. The quote suggests that nobody is perfect; the one who made mistakes in the past can still have a good and moral future, and the one who is perfect now doesn’t mean to be like that in the future. The quote suggests that nobody is either a saint or a sinner by birth. Like in human inheritance, some traits are inherent to us from our birth, but some are acquired while living on this planet based on our environment and surroundings. In the same way that nobody becomes a doctor, graduate, or teacher from childhood, in a similar way, don’t become a saint or sinner.
The picture of a saint is always associated with one who is holy, spiritual, kind, and a person with high moral standards and is virtuous. However, even someone who is now a saint can probably have done mistakes in the past, showing less morality and bad behaviour. Many saints before their life conversion lived imperfectly. Saint Matthew, before connecting to Jesus, did bad things related to excessive money collection from people in the form of taxes. Saint Francis of Assisi was a soldier before dedicating his life to serving the poor.
On a similar basis, the picture of a sinner is always one of a bad person with no moral values, often judged and ostracised by society. But the quote suggests that, even if one has made mistakes in the past, one can still have a better future and a chance of redemption. This makes us learn that we should not judge people solely on the basis of their past but should provide them space for change and a better future.
The core idea of the quote is that humans are complex and multi- dimensional because we have windows for both bad and good choices and behaviours. The choices we are making in our lives can either make us more righteous and morally correct or vice versa. So, there are always options for amendments and opportunities in our lives, no matter what past we have survived and lived.
Redemption is the concept central to many religions: that one can be forgiven for his past and still have the opportunity to start good and new. The quote has relevance outside of a religious context; it speaks to the fact that we all make mistakes and learn from them.
In conclusion, this quote is motivating someone to see beyond judgements and believe in the power of positive change in one’s life.