Hard work or Destiny.

I had a conversation with a friend whose dad is a Muslim and his mum a Christian. But he is neither both. He is more like an atheist and thinks both Holy books (The Holy Bible & Quran) are written by some people who want us to believe what they believed. I am a Christian and I don’t argue religion. However, I prove points about Christianity when needed.

Our conversation was about religion and when it got to a point, it started getting hot. So, he said that there is no such thing as destiny. He only believes about hard work, luck and attitude. According to him, your hard work paves way for you. You get lucky at some points in life. E.g. winning millions of dollars in Jackpot and your attitude determines if you will get help from people. I told him he has good points, and I said — “I agree with hard work, attitude is important and you get lucky at some point, but what about destiny and grace?

I have seen scenarios where these two(destiny & grace) worked, and I kind of believe in them. Also, as part of my belief, grace works and we pray for the God’s grace. Destiny also determines how far and the things that would come your way. I shared a real-life story with him.

I had 3 friends named Larry, Cent and Eugen. We were close pals those days. Larry, Cent and Eugen play basketball. I was the only one playing soccer those during days.

Back then, in our state Stadium, we knew Larry as one of the best. Cent was good and so was Eugen, but none of them could train, work hard and play better than Larry. After high school, he furthered his education and during the West African Basketball League he played for his University and he was the most valuable player.

Later, he played the Milo championship in Africa, and he was among TOP 5 to travel to the United States to further his education and play college basketball. His name and picture were in the sports newspapers. He was interviewed on television and everyone thought Larry will go to the United States to play basketball.

This is a good guy with a cool attitude. When it was about time, something happened and he was replaced by someone with lower quality. No one knew what happened, but Larry could not travel. After some years, Cent found a team in the United States and travelled. Eugen also found a place in the United States and travelled. Even if they were of lower quality, they left and they are having a good life. It has been over a decade, but Larry could not get a team despite his hard work, perseverance and respectful attitude. He is still in the state where we all grew up and playing the local league. This is where I question hard work and destiny.

I would like you to know your thoughts about hard work and destiny.

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