Creativity V. Repetition Series

Creativity V. Repetition by Pastor Shannon Lewis 10/04/06

2Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come”.

Just as good can be the enemy of great, repetition can be the enemy of creativity. Creativity is a producer of life and longevity. Repetition will stifle life and will shorten effectiveness.

The next two weeks, we’re going to examine the differences in Creativity and Flexibility V. Repetition and Rigidity. I believe God has called us to a new life. A life that will constantly change and evolve into greater life as Christ is creating in us His life. Danger for Christ followers exists when the life that Christ wants for us is reduced to casual repetitions and lifeless rigidity.

This week, we’re focusing on Creativity V. Repetition.

I want to begin by saying, “There is nothing wrong with repetition in and of itself. Where repetition becomes negative is when it begins to replace creativity. If creativity takes a second place position to repetition, then life begins to become boring, mundane and predictable. I’ve said it before but it’s worth repeating. Life that is predictable is no fun. To live life that is scripted and pre-planned is a huge waste of the creative abilities that God has pre-built in us all.

2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come”.

Paul is stating here that we are new creations in Christ Jesus. New as in the old is no longer viable. The old life is no longer needed, it’s not necessary to live life the way we used to. Christ has given us new ideas, new passions, new purposes, new realities, new options, new goals.

God is creating in us the person he wants us to be….patterned after the person of Jesus Christ! Paul instructs the Colossians to, “…put on the new man, which is renewed in the image of him that created him.”

Can I make an observation here? “If it’s repetitious, it’s boring”. Those things may be captivating for a time but given enough time, they’ll prove themselves boring. The life that is repetitive and repetitious is boring and uneventful. Our lives were never meant to be lived that way.

You are called to live life as a “new creation”. Not to be captive to the same life you lived before surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus Christ!

As I was in my office writing tonight’s sermon, I looked out of my office window and looking across the parking lot, I noticed thousands of little moths. When I say thousands, I’m not exaggerating. I literally mean thousands.

So as I’m sitting there, observing these moths, I begin thinking. What are they doing? Where are they going? Do they have any direction or are they just flying around? Then I noticed something else that got my attention. On the highway, where the state has yet to cut grass, there’s some pretty tall grass on the edge of the roadway. I was able to determine the direction of the wind by looking at which way the grass was being driven. It was blowing west to east. As I began to watch the moths again, I noticed they were also traveling west to east, just as the wind was. Now, I don’t now if there is a scientific reason for this (and there may be) but it appeared to me they were simply taking the easy way. I didn’t see one moth fly against the wind. It’s too hard. It takes too much effort.

This is why all rivers are crooked. They all take the path of least resistance. Our lives aren’t meant to be lived in that manner, always looking for the easy way out. The path of least resistance is many times a great temptation to follow but it will never produce in us what the challenges of creativity will.

When the adverse winds of repetition blow we tend to not allow creative ability to have a voice. We stifle cry for creativity for the convenience of what’s known, recognizable, measurable, and calculable. All of these things are playmates of repetition.

If everything you do has to be in some way known to you, recognizable to you, measurable to you or calculable to you, then you will likely be lost in the open see of repetition for the rest of your life!

Security Trap

Often when challenged to be creative rather than stick with the status quo, we find ourselves searching for the security blanket of repetition. Because it’s known, recognizable, measurable and calculable! But when creativeness is stifled for the presumed security of what’s known or any of the other playmates of repetition, its false security.