Soccer and American Football teach me that there is such a thin line between success and failure, hero-hood and condemnation in sports and life. Eli Manning is hailed as a hero because of only a few vital moments of luck and determination in his game-winning drive in the 4th Quarter in the Super Bowl, if not he would have lost and Tom Brady would have been the hero. Such a thin line. As it turned out, Eli is hailed as a hero and Tom criticised as a loser, with poor planning skills.

Soccer. Liverpool got to the Semi-Finals of the Champions League thanks to a dubious penalty against Arsenal. No penalty, and Arsenal would have been through instead. Such a thin line. As it turned out, Liverpool's grit and excellent spirit were praised, and Arsenal criticised as a team that often dominates but do not score.

Match Point is an excellent movie, and it studies this theme of luck in real life. In the end the protagonist, who is also a villain, wins out because of a slice of good luck. Success versus failure, sadness versus bliss, the winner versus the loser… such extreme human reactions and labels to bestow upon unwitting recipients of good fortune. Of course this theme is offensive to many. It offends our every sensibilities, and even a character in Match Point (a very innocent and prudish rich young lady) points out that it cannot be, human effort somehow has to make a difference. Her Atheist husband, also the protagonist and villain (damn why can’t I remember his name), intelligently indicates that even the generation of life by evolution is a massive game of blind chance. Life depends massively on luck.

We would like to think that our actions make a difference. But do they?

As a religious person I’m not doubting the influence of God in the events of life. Indeed, God’s intervention changes the equation massively, such that humans believe that they can change the world by a simple act such as praying. This throws the idea of impersonal luck or fate out of the window.

But having said that, it is unfair how we label people mostly on things that they had absolutely no control over. Just like we label Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool a winning team because they gained a penalty that was extremely dubious (can assure you the game-winning moment was not a product of Liverpoolian efforts), we label people as “intelligent”, “beautiful”, “rich”… even “successful”, based on things which they may have had little control over. Yes, even “success” is often out of one’s control. The Bible says: A man plans in his heart, but the Lord determines his steps. The Chinese say: 成功, 是天时， 地立， 人和。。。