#SorryNotSorry

Me and Sarah aren't particularly media savvy, but I have noticed lately that the tag "sorrynotsorry" has been quite popular (it's currently sitting at 9.8 million references on Instagram). Sorry-not-sorry is one of those terms that is what "whatever" was to me as a teenager. In America especially, it is a way for us to proclaim our independence from apologizing to others. After all, why should I apologize for being who I am?

I think that the Bible is clear about our identity: "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." (Gen. 1:27) All of us bear God's image. All of us. Those of us who have surrendered our lives to God can go further and say that, "outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." (2 Cor. 4:16) So, if this is true we have to take a look in the mirror. When it comes to our attitude towards others, our goal is not to step on people shamelessly as we try to claw our way to the top, but instead we should gently lift up each other ahead of us (Matt. 20:25-27). 

Sorry not sorry is a way of writing off people, of being unapologetic. We don't write others off as Christians. We simply can't. God made everyone in his image, which includes your spouse as well as the guy who cut you off in traffic. Instead, I think that our challenge in this cynical time is to develop genuine compassion for others. There are a number of ways that we do that, but it starts by changing our #sorrynotsorry, to #iamsosorry.