Bob Hartry, producer, guitarist, songwriter and occasional sideman for me and Daniel and Ben, pointed out to me the lyrics of ‘I’m losing my edge’ by LCD Soundsystem. Actually, he started with the lines

. . . I’m losing my edge to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent.
And they’re actually really, really nice.

I have never read lyrics that hit on the artist/creative’s paranoia quite as brilliantly as these do. There’s an interesting tension that exists in most of the creative’s I know. We have a genuine love for and a real joy in novelty. We love new things. We love new ways of doing things. We love new ways of seeing things. I will call this the ‘good spring’. God loves new things. God does new things. New heavens, new earth, new creation, new hearts. . . He even instructs us to sing new songs…. Newness is good. The love for newness is good!

But in most of the creatives I know, and certainly within myself, there is also another ’spring’ that resources our attempts at creativity. It is not the love for novelty. Simply put, it is a desire to compete! This is the ‘bad spring’. Now not all desire’s to compete are necessarily wrong. In fact, competition is a metaphor used in scripture. Paul talks about running the race to win it, about training to win. But the prize in Paul’s race is the upward call of GOD in Christ. This type of competition is a kind of personal competition. You do not have to beat anyone else to win. You win by finishing. And your success is in many ways unaffected by the success or failure of those around you - a round of golf with strangers, rock climbing, hiking, surfing or running or swimming or cycling on your own. You get the picture - where winning involves bettering your previous efforts, or even just enjoying yourself. Typically though, the competition we enjoy watching, the type of competition we learn in school almost from the very beginning is the one where to win you have to beat your opponent!! That is what makes compelling viewing. Competitors coming from behind and defeating their opponents. Winners crushing losers!! It is amazing FUN!!! Is there something inherently wrong with this? I don’t think so. I actually think it is a fairly healthy way of living. It’s certainly a healthy way of distributing anger/frustration that we often express in unhealthy ways

BUT!! Here’s the rub - and thank you for your patience for waiting this long. The idea of creating something good in order to crush the opposition is inherently flawed. And long-term it actually starves our creativity rather than feeding it. Heres why: because it depends on viewing the world as if there is a limited amount of creativity to be had. It’s as if all the amazing things that can be created in the world are like real estate, or gold or diamonds in a mine, or a pie. There is a limited amount of creating to be done. And unless I get there first I’m going to lose out. So I have to work harder and faster then everyone else or else I’m not going to be able to come up with anything cool. And every time I hear a great new song, I think to myself ‘dang!!’, that’s one that got away from me. Now there are only 3 pieces of the pie left! In his book ‘the seven habits’ Covey refers to this view of the world as the ’scarcity mentality’.

But there is another way of looking at the world. This way does not regard creativity as a limited resource. In this view of the world the possibilities of creativity are, by their nature, infinite and boundless - just like the Creator God we serve. And so when someone comes up with something new and great we need not be threatened by the news! In fact we can, as God instructs, rejoice in their joy. Their great new song or art or idea does not diminish the pie because THERE IS NO PIE!! There is an unlimited amount of ‘making things’ to be done!! What the lyrics to this LCD Soundsystem song, I’m losing my edge, do so well, is expose the emotional tension that emerges when we regard other artists as competitors that we need to crush! How can I be competing with someone who seems to be really, really nice and who’s ideas strike me as really good and maybe even better than mine right now? The good news is that we don’t need to compete with them. Because there is no race to get to the good stuff in time. There is not just one prize. There are no competitors. The metaphor doesn’t fit. And it will probably hinder your creative efforts because, it gives rise to the anxiety that you are running out of time and opportunities. Your fellow artists aren’t competitors, they are just lovers of creativity like you. And if anything, their efforts might inspire in your more creativity. Covey calls this the ‘abundance mentality’. There are far more opportunities and things to create in life than we can even imagine. There are billions of great songs out there to be written! So when you are tempted to say things like

I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.

With a hint of panic in your voice, you can relax. It’s okay. The sands of creativity are not running out. If we continue to follow the Lord beyond this life and death and resurrection we will probably write and create millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions of songs. And - you can tell your spouse happily - you will probably improve as you do this.