Les Henson
Many Christians are churchaholics, rather than disciples. Disciples are called to take up the cross daily and follow Christ. The churchaholic seeks happiness instead of the joy that comes from living as a disciple of Jesus Christ. A disciple seeks to meet the demands of discipleship and enjoy the joy that comes from growing in Christ. Churchalohics are escapists who constantly look for shortcuts to Christian maturity instead of putting in the hard yards, which involves taking up their cross and following after Jesus.
There is no easy road to joy. Jesus is not a happiness guru. He is the way to the Father and the Lord of those who follow in his footsteps. However, the way to the Father is no joyride where we passively watch while we are entertained. Such thinking may be prevalent in segments of contemporary Christianity, but it is not authentic cross-aligned Christianity. Christ desires that we consistently move towards maturity and growth rather than focus on happiness and be dependent on bouts of emotionalism. The admonition to Timothy is not "feeling to show yourself approve" unto God, but "study to show yourself approved" (2 Tim. 2:15).