Many people reject dedicating themselves fully to God (or any singular ideal) because they think a devout life would be a dismal one. They equate a total rejection of hedonism with a total embrace of asceticism. They assume that if they quit chasing pleasure, they won’t enjoy any, and if they quit fleeing from pain, their life will be full of it.
But this worry is unfounded. In fact, the opposite tends to be true. The more you seek the ideal first and foremost, the more your desires and actions become in harmony with your conscience and with reality, and, generally speaking, the better you feel all-around.
A harmony of being is attended by intense positive emotions: the thrill of meaningful discovery and growth, the joy of creating something wonderful, the satisfaction of a job well done, the heartwarming feeling that comes from enriching the lives of others.
And a lack of inner discord with one’s conscience and with reality means freedom from the pains that attend that state of being: guilt, shame, worry, anxiety, torment, etc.
A devout life also improves the smaller pleasures of life by purifying them of the pain that immoderation tends to mix in. Freed from gluttony and its attendant shame and ravenousness, we actually get more genuine enjoyment out of each wholesome meal. Freed from sloth and its attendant guilt and flightiness, we actually get more genuine enjoyment and refreshment out of our deliberate breaks, our recreational activities, and our vacations.
A devout life is not dismal, but joyful. That is because of what I’ve called the paradox of pleasure. Pleasure tends to grace those who don’t chase it but seek higher aims instead.