When You Refuse the Mask
There’s a strange tension that comes when you choose to live honestly in a world that survives on appearances.
Some people hide behind a mask, one they’ve worn so long it feels like their face. And when you don’t become what they imagined you should be, when you don’t match the version they need you to play, it angers them. Not because you are doing something wrong, but because you are doing something real.
They need you to perform. You choose to be honest.
So they raise their voice. They accuse. They project.
Over time, you realize something important: the anger isn’t really about you. It’s about the discomfort truth creates when it stands unfiltered in front of a carefully constructed illusion.
Every day, we’re surrounded by curated lives and polished words. Social media makes lying look beautiful. Filters soften reality. Smiles are staged. Pain is hidden. And sometimes the hardest thing you can do is simply exist as you are - without editing yourself to make others comfortable.
Some days, the facades don’t touch me. I can walk past them grounded and steady. Other days, they feel louder - like obstacles placed deliberately in my path. And some days… they mean nothing at all.
I’m learning that not every lie deserves a response. Not every false version of me needs correcting. Sometimes silence is wisdom. Sometimes prayer is action.
So I lift my eyes upward.
Father Most High,
do not let their illusions block my path.
Do not let false faces or loud voices interfere with the work You are doing in me.
I pray not only for protection - but for them.
For those hiding behind masks they’re afraid to remove.
For those who confuse image with identity.
For those who mistake performance for worth.
May they find You - not the god of appearances, not the approval of crowds - but the Savior who calls us by name and invites us to come as we are.
And as for me,
teach me to walk uncovered.
Unashamed.
Rooted in truth.
Because living honestly in a world of masks is not rebellion - it’s obedience.
Signature Artist’s Note
This work reflects the weight of living behind a mask and the quiet freedom of choosing truth. The mask represents the exhausting burden of a false identity - heavy, demanding, and difficult to carry -while the unmasked figure walks freely, not in defiance, but in honesty.
Often, anger is not about being challenged; it is about the strain of pretending for too long. Truth has a way of revealing what performance tries to protect, and light naturally unsettles what has grown comfortable in shadow.
When we walk unmasked before God, the burden falls away. We are known, seen, and still loved. And that kind of freedom cannot be sustained by appearances alone.
