Rough or Smooth?

            Jane and I used to raise collies…you know, like Lassie. There are actually two kinds of collies, roughs (like Lassie) with long, flowing coats and smooths, with very short, close to the body coats (they kind of look like a naked collie). There’s always a huge discussion among collie breeders as to what their preference is…in other words, “Do you like roughs or smooths?”

         I know what I prefer in collies, but one of the questions I’ve been giving a lot of thought to lately is this one: “Do I prefer people to be rough or smooth?” Yes, I know it’s an odd question, but here’s what I mean by it. I have a lot of friends, many of whom, maybe most of whom, claim to be Christians. And when I say “Christian” I’m talking about people who have made a conscious decision to follow Christ, not just folks who were born into a particular faith or who had parents who were observant church-goers.

            Anyway, I have some Christian friends who are as smooth as silk, at least as far as I can tell. They talk nice, they act religious, their Facebook posts are always civil; they just don’t seem to have any rough edges. And may I just say…of you, my smooth friends, I am very suspicious! Maybe I’ve been around “Churchianity” too long…maybe I’m jaded…maybe I’m even a bit cynical, but come on…nobody is that smooth. My experience is, put into the right situation, many of the smoothest folks I’ve known can turn into buzz saws. They’re like Transformers®. They change from innocent looking pew-sitters into foaming-at-the-mouth pit bulls in an instant, when provoked. The problem with smooth people is you never know when that’s going to happen. I’m sorry, but if you’re one of those people who seems to have it all together…and tries to convince me you have all your rough edges knocked off…I’m going to be skeptical of you…actually, to be very honest…I’m a little scared of you.

            On the other hand, I have some really great people in my life who are “rough as a cob”, and we both know it. They’re some of my favorite people, by the way. It’s not that they want to be rough, they are just in process and there are still some obvious and apparent jagged shards, sticking out all over the place. The danger of being in relationship with these folks is minimized because I know going in they’re not perfect. Sometimes they use harsh language, sometimes they have bad habits and sometimes they blow it…royally. They’re rough, really rough…but then I knew that.

            Maybe one of the reasons I like rough people better than smooth ones is because…well, you guessed it…I’m rough too. I wish I wasn’t. I wish I had everything together like some of my friends pretend they do. I wish my emotions were always in check, I wish I didn’t have any bad habits, and I wish, most of all I wish, I looked a whole lot more like Jesus than I do. But the truth is…I’m rough around the edges…and sometime right in the middle too. There, I said it, in case you thought differently (and you didn’t if you know me at all), I’m not perfect!

            I think a lot of us who follow Jesus get a bum rap, and I think some of my smooth friends are to blame. A lot of people think what Christ-followers are all about is telling people to get “smooth.” Nothing could be further from the truth, at least not for me. That has never been my battle cry. If I could boil it down, I’d say it like this…The highest calling we have is not to get smooth…it’s to get honest. And really, if you have the kind of friends who only like you when you’re smooth (or pretend to be), you need some new friends.

            Perhaps this is my very favorite thing about God. He knows me inside and out, with all the roughness, yet He still loves me, He’s still my friend. Pretty awesome, huh? He didn’t come into this relationship thinking or even hoping I was smooth. He knew I was rough, He knew I had bumps and bruises and broken stuff. He knew, and yet…He loved me. We live in a world where when things get broken, we throw them out. Not God. When He sees something that’s broken He stops, stoops down and picks up the broken pieces and promises to love us even though…we’re in shambles. So stop trying to be smooth…just be honest. Here, let me help you by going first. “I’m broken, I’m rough, I’m a mess…but…I am loved!