Why the World Can’t Handle the Raw Truth

​There is a specific kind of loneliness that comes when you realize you simply don’t “fit” into the standard machinery of society. For me, that feeling wasn’t a choice; it was a reality I was born into. I have always been an outsider because of a gift I’ve carried since I was a child: Discernment.

​This isn’t a “gift” that always feels like a blessing. In fact, it takes a massive, soul-deep toll. It takes a toll on a child who is forced to see the truth behind the masks adults wear; it takes a toll on a teenager trying to survive without a safety net; and it takes a heavy toll on a person’s life as an adult. When you have a natural-born compass for right and wrong, and you act on it instinctively. You spend your life feeling ostracized, chastised, and “outsided.”

​You begin to notice that even when you aren’t trying to be “difficult,” your very presence causes friction. Because you act out the truth without even noticing you’re doing it, people decide they don’t like you before they even know you. They don’t like being corrected. They don’t like the truth.

​The Temptation to Quiet the Spirit

​When you live this way, you eventually start questioning your position in life. You look at everyone else playing the game, smiling when they’re angry, lying to keep the peace, pretending things are fine when they’re falling apart, and you wonder: Is it worth it? Should I continue in this raw truthfulness, or would it be easier to just go blind like the rest of them? But when you finally decide to rely on this discernment and lean into this lifestyle, you have to embrace a hard theological reality: we live in sufferance. The world pushes back because it is threatened by clarity. We are told to navigate this rejection not with bitterness or fear, but with a Grace that the world cannot understand.

​Grounded in the Word

​When I feel the weight of being an outsider, I return to the foundation found in: John 15:18-21:

​“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.”

​The Principles of our Position

​To walk this path without breaking, we have to understand the spiritual laws at play:

• ​The Principle of Sufferance: Living in the truth in a world that loves illusions is a form of suffering. It is a burden you carry for the sake of integrity.
• ​The Theology of Exposure: When you walk in discernment, you become a mirror. People don’t necessarily hate you; they hate the fact that your presence exposes their own lack of honesty.
• ​The Law of Total Accountability: This is where the friction turns into fire. In the eyes of the Truth, ignorance is not an alibi. People love to play the “Perplexed Card” to avoid the consequences of their actions.

​How This Plays Out in the Real World

​Discernment isn’t just a “feeling”—it’s an action. And that action usually leads to the “Outsider’s Tax.”

• ​The Workplace: Everyone is nodding along to a decision that is clearly wrong. You’re the only one who speaks up. Suddenly, you’re the “problem employee” or the one who “isn’t a team player.” They aren’t mad that you’re wrong; they’re mad that you’re right and you had the nerve to say it.
• ​The Family Dynamic: You see the manipulation or the gaslighting happening at the dinner table. You call it out for what it is. Instead of the family addressing the behavior, they turn on you for “ruining the mood.”
• ​The Social Circle: You catch a friend in a lie. You confront them, not to be mean, but so the relationship can be real. Instead of an apology, they give you that blank, confused look. They act like they have no idea what you’re talking about. They use “confusion” to make you feel like you’re the one who is crazy.

​Survival and the “Perplexed” Mask

​During the years I had to navigate life entirely on my own, this discernment was my protection. It literally saved my life by allowing me to see the “wrong” in a person before they could act on it. But calling out that truth almost cost me my life, too.

​Today, when I confront people and they try to gaslight me, I’m not scared. I’ve seen the worst the world has to throw. What hurts is the cowardice—the way people act like they “didn’t know” or “didn’t realize” they were doing wrong.

​Here is the Sip: Ignorance does not erase responsibility.

​Whether you act like you know or you really don’t know, you are still responsible. We are all responsible equally. You don’t get a discount on accountability just because you’re pretending not to notice the truth. Once the truth is spoken, as the scripture says, they have “no excuse for their sin.”

​Final Thoughts

​If you are walking the path of the outsider, don’t let the world’s gaslighting make you doubt your sight. Your discernment was given to you to keep you standing when everything else falls. It is a heavy burden, but it is a holy one. You weren’t meant to “belong” to a system built on illusions. Lean into the Grace that sustains you through the sufferance.

​Today’s Sip: Stop seeking a seat at a table where you have to lie to fit in. The world might hate the messenger, but the truth remains final. We are all accountable in the end.