Metropolitan Anthoniy (Pakanich) talks about the importance of being yourself.

This age is probably more than ever, the age of posturing.

A lot of people on social networks are trying to show those around them from the best, in their opinion, side. Almost everyone wants to look richer, prettier, smarter than they really are.

And here lies the main problem: people are not trying to be richer, more beautiful and smarter, but are trying to seem richer, more beautiful and smarter. And this applies not only to those who are far from faith – many Christians also strive to seem more pious, moral, and kinder.

We do not even notice how much effort and energy is spent on creating such a fake illusory, and, to be honest, deceitful image.

Problems from this begin now. If a single woman is looking for a couple while improving her images in photo editors, she risks disappointing her possible soul mate when faced with reality.

Politicians who, with the help of technical means, create incredibly huge but false ratings for themselves, can lose the election.

As for us Christians, the meeting with God, which no one can escape, will blow away our false righteousness and personally show the true and, perhaps, not the best state of our soul.

No wonder many of the great monarchs at the end of their lives, preparing for death, bequeathed to bury themselves without regalia and other vain insignia in order to appear before the Creator as simple people waiting for mercy.

Virtual reality is very addictive, at some point we ourselves begin to believe in the reality of our «improved» double we have created. Probably, there is nothing more terrible than inventing a lie and believing in it yourself.

Therefore, we must always remember about the all-seeing Creator, Who every day sees us as real – as we really are, and Who cannot be deceived by any tricks. After all, the Lord can help His creation only when it asks for help in its weakness, and not when, in incredible pride, it sculpts something fake from itself.

Recorded by Natalia Goroshkova