I got the opportunity awhile back to read a great book called Addicted to Mediocrity by Franky Schaeffer
Creativity
Schaeffer starts the book off by pointing out the fact that we are all addicted to art as form of advertising and it’s no longer about the glorification of God as it once was. He is extremely blunt throughout the book in his opinions but they are all very valid points that need to be made. What’s even more alarming is that this book was written in 1981! I’m sure he would have even more to say about where things have gone with the Internet and all it has brought to the table.
He goes on to note that we have all created a world that separates Christianity from everything else through “a set of praying hands made out of some sort of pressed muck”, “a little plastic cube with a mustard seed entombed to boost your understanding of faith”, or “a toothbrush with a Bible verse stamped on its plastic handle.”
Only One World
Upon reading further in the book, he begins to go back to previous centuries and how our lives became compartmentalized. He describes that people see our world as two separate worlds, the Christian world and the secular world. Basically meaning everything that is of Christ and everything that is not. Check out this small excerpt to see what I mean.
The true division in the Christian life between one group of activities in life and another is the line we call sin. Those things which are specifically sinful are indeed cut off and separate from the rest of life for Christians and to be avoided, but everything else comes under the heading of our Christian life, if it is to be a true and full Christian life in the real sense. Either Christ has redeemed the whole man, including every part of him (except those things that are sinful), or he has redeemed none of them. Either our whole life comes under the Lordship of Christ or no part can effectively come under it.
And he goes on to say that there is actually only one world, God’s world.
Inspiration
We can truly look at God in awe and say that he is the ultimate creator. He has more creativity than we could ever imagine to have. He created the entire universe from absolutely nothing. How many of us can create anything from absolutely nothing? It’s far harder than you might think.
I once heard this in a joke about a scientist talking to God. The scientist said to God, “We don’t need you anymore because we figured out how to make anything we want.” God says “Alright, show me.” The scientist then bent down and scooped up a handful of dirt. Upon standing, God said “Nope, put down MY dirt.”
Using this type of thinking, Schaeffer says that God created the Earth and “it was good, (and still is).”
What To Do
And so I’ll wrap this up by saying that Schaeffer makes a call to us to push the limits of creativity and to remove ourselves from doing things without thinking of God. Each of us has a talent of some sort and they are all God given. They all need to be used to glorify Him and His kingdom. No longer should we be Addicted to Mediocrity, but we should strive for perfection whether we will ever get there or not. Take this to heart and do the absolute best you can do in all you do.
What do you think about what Schaeffer says? Do you think we have become complacent in our creativity?
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