The Luxury Of Ignorance...

~Anything may be betrayed, anyone may be forgiven, but not those who lack the courage of their own greatness.~ Ayn Rand

 Beautiful One, do you have the luxury of ignorance?

Recently, my son and I watched the movie Social Network. It's about the founder of Face Book Mark Zuckerberg. The movie focuses on and questions the integrity of its founder as to whether he stole the idea  of Face Book from his unasuming peers at Harvard, the Winklvoss brothers.

Let's just assume this is a fictional movie. I desire to use it as a point of reference. In the movie, it clearly plays out, that Mark, was approached by the Winklevoss brothers about an idea for a social networking site they had. The Winklevoss brothers needed a skilled person to step in and  help coordinate all their plans. Mark agreed verbally to come aboard. As the weeks passed, Mark put the brothers at bay, pretending to be helping them develope their network, all the while, he was using their idea, as a foundation and he deceptively built his own site and published it first. When the brothers found out, they went to the Head of Harvard and were told quite plainly, "you are rich, get over it, invent something new." Meanwhile Mr. Zuckerberg, became a famous entrepenuer and has prospered greatly with what we now call Facebook. To the chegrin of the Winklevoss brothers.

After the movie, my son and I discussed the events. I felt really badly for the Winklevoss twins. To have an inspiring idea, work hard on it, share it with a trusted person and have them steal it from you, while pretending to be your ally, that was something I felt strongly about. Couple that with no one caring or helping, to me that is a hard pill to swallow! My 17 year old son saw it differently. It really didnt bother him that the idea was stolen, he felt the brothers needed to move on, and there was nothing to be done about it.

I told my son gently, only someone who is ignorant of the pain of being betrayed has the luxury of saying that. Unless a person knows what it feels like to be betrayed, unless one knows how painful that is, they remain ignorant to it's affects. It's not enough to imagine it, when you experience it, thats when you can have compassion for what someone else may be enduring.  There are so many people who cannot understand why people hold on to things. Sometimes the wounding is so great, people just dont know how to move on. The pain, lies, and deception all bind a person up and they become immobilized in the event. If you have ever been betrayed, then you know the proclivity one feels towards seeking revenge and how tempting it is to never want to trust again either.

 

Beautiful One, betrayal, is an insidious event. What makes it even more bitter is that most betrayals are not justified, therefore leaving the wounded in an even more vulnerable position. Being betrayed by a trusted person hurts, alot! I am of the opinion, that this is one of the foremost weapons of evil. Betrayal is as old as the Garden of Eden. Betrayal, is a formidable enemy, one that usually takes it's opponent captive by blindsiding and befriending them first.

Betrayal has caused mankind many sorrows. Wars have been both won and lost in the name of betrayal.  Friendships and family relationships have been severed in the name of betrayal. Marriages-obliterated by betrayals wounds.  The ultimate betrayal of blinding a world that was created to fellowship with it's loving Creator is the root cause for the evil we see everyday.

But unlike this movie, we are not left voiceless and defenseless like the Winklevoss brothers. No, we are not left to be victims of this nasty predator. We have a God who promises each one who believes, that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. No weapon of betrayal is going to go head to head with our God and win. (Isaiah 54:17 NIV)

Just ain't gonna happen.

If you are familiar with the Bible you can see that God used  betrayal and wickedness just as much as He used the goodness of people. God uses our enemies and their acts against us, maybe more so to bring about the plans He has for us. 

Beautiful One, our God was betrayed by all, including you and I. He knows the pain well, and because He does, He will see to it, that betrayal does not have the last say in our lives. He definitly doesn't treat us as our sins deserve.( Psalms 103:10NIV)

I pray my son in all his youthful innocence, and naitivity, doesn't ever come into the knowledge of what it feels like to be betrayed. But then again, to be ignorant of betrayal would only mean he would remain indifferent to it, and not develope a compassion, and a wisdom of his own frailities and shortcomings himself. That seems to me, to be a luxury he simply cannot afford.

Betrayal happens, but, if we deny our own greatness by lacking the courage to overcome it, isn't that then the greater betrayal?

For it means then, that we have betrayed our own self...

Beautiful One, just believe.