How to Share Your Faith Using Breach
James Bond, Jason Bourne, Ethan Hunt...these 'good guy' movie spies entertain us with action-packed drama and suspense. While we may question their violent tactics, at least on some level, Bond, Bourne and Hunt reassure us. These 'good guys', though operating in the murky cloak and dagger world of international espionage, reassure us because of their bold commitment to bravely protect their countries' interests.
But what about spies who sell-out? Spy thriller, Breach, follows the story of the outing of real-life espionage double agent Richard Hanssen. Hanssen served for decades in the ranks of the FBI and sold thousands of pages of highly classified material to the Russians. The national security secrets he sold included the location where the president of the United States would be hidden in times of national emergency. Hanssen also disclosed the names of several American spies planted within the ranks of the Russian intelligence system, some of who were executed as a result of him identifying them. MI and Bond are made-up - but Breach is the real deal, with deadly consequences.
Hanssen's secret life as a double-agent spanned 22 years. As evidence mounted during those years that a highly placed mole was active within the FBI, the agency developed a plan to flush the traitor out. The FBI positioned 26 year old Eric O'Neill close to Hanssen, initially telling O'Neill only that he's being assigned to watch Hanssen for 'sexually deviant behavior' that could embarrass the agency. Breach follows the high stakes game of truth and deception that unfolds as O'Neill learns more and manuvers to flush out Hanssen before he unleashes further damage and destroys O'Neill, his family, and his country.
Breach explores the espionage world of trust and deception. The reality that someone can appear to be one person on the outside, but someone entirely different on the inside, is on open display in this movie. Hanssen is a high stakes poser, with lives and national security on the line. How could someone betray their oath, their family and their country?
The answer to that question lies within each of us. Have you ever felt the tug to be a poser, to appear one way in one part of your world and show a different side of who you are in another? Are you one person on myspace and another in youth group? Or do your parents see one side of you at home, while a totally different teen walks the hallways of your school? Do you know others who are living double-lives?
Deception's been around a long time...since the Garden of Eden, actually. So it's a human failing everyone on earth can relate to - including you and your friends. As you find yourself in conversations about the movie Breach, look for ways to turn the conversation toward trust and deception, and ultimately toward God talk. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
- Do you think of both Hanssen and O'Neill as posers in the high-stakes espionage world Breach depicts?
- Are you surprised that Hanssen behaved publicly as a devout, religious, family man, while engaging in sexual sin in private?
- When you think of the word 'poser', how do you feel?
- Is it hard to be the same person on the outside as you are on the inside? Are there some parts of your life where it's harder than others? How do you handle it?
- Which is more important, who you are on in the inside, or who you appear on the outside? Do you think God puts more priority on one than the other? For help talking about this, check out 1 Samuel 16:7.
- Explain to your friends how your relationship with God, through Jesus, assures you that God loves you no matter what and you can be totally honest with Him.
Posing and deception dominate the dangerous espionage world of Breach. Unfortunately, they can also find their way into our somewhat-less-exciting, daily existence. But God can cut through all the posturing and posing and meet us straight-up with his gift of forgiveness. Remember, eternity is high stakes, so tell your friends.
