Yes. This is why there will be a market for a blockchain app to implement simple smart contracts and other functions which wouldn't really warrant creating a sidechain just to run by themselves. For this reason, Ethereum and Lisk are not really competitors, other than Lisk can run EVM as a blockchain app tied to the main Lisk chain.
You really get it. What helped you the most to understand Lisk?
Ok thanks for your clear answer. I don't find this elegant though, as if I am a fan of Lisk, I don't want to have anything to do with Ether,
I guess Lisk should have some kind of catchall sidechain for all small apps and simple smart contracts...
Also say I am a small guy with no big ideas and no desire to invest a lot of energy in this, can I, somehow,
still earn Lisk by staking in any way or do I absolutely have to play the whole political game to become a Delegate?
While there is competition to become a delegate for the main chain, there will be plenty of demand to run delegates for the sidechains.
Running EVM as a blockchain app tied to Lisk is not the same as tying Ethereum directly to Lisk. It is more like forking Ethereum to run as different application for its smart contract functionality to run independently as a Lisk app.
It is also quite possible that someone may develop a GUI to create smart contracts which run on Java Script with a consensus system on a dedicated set of delegates developed for that purpose.
Also, please keep in mind that even with EVM running as a blockchain app on Lisk, any hacks or failures would be confined to that app and would not impact the main Lisk chain or anything else connected to it.