"You were created to enjoy, but make sure you enjoy what you were created for. Your desires can lead you astray;"because it feels good is not a good compass for life. We should make decisions that enhance our joy for a lifetime rather than sacrificing joy for momentary pleasure.

So what do we do? We create religions to try to stop ourselves from allowing our desires, passions, and longings to lead us on destructive paths. We create laws and rules and rituals and guidelines - not to mention throwing in all the guilt and fear we can muster.

Rules or passions - which option is more attractive to you? Desire or demands? Freedom or legalism? Enjoy or obey? This last one is really important. Do you believe obedience to God is in conflict with enjoyment of life? You'll never live the life of your dreams until you believe that God is the source of all that is good. God made you to enjoy life. He's not trying to stop you from enjoying life; he's trying to help you find the joy for which you were created. Your longing to enjoy life will never go away, because God designed you that way. But we are too often shortsighted and settle for filler rather than wait for fulfillment."

Erwin McManus