Is the Christian Life Hard?

Buttercup: You mock my pain.
Westley: Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.

The Princess Bride

In the process of a continuing theological email conversation with one of my favorite regular debaters, he rather surprised me with this...

Once last thing however - I see being a part of the church makes life better AND harder. Being a Christian is hard, I wouldn't consider it a burden, but it is hard. It's meant to be. Being a Christian (regardless of your stripe) means to live against the grain of this fallen world. To live against one's urges and to turn from temptation is far harder than giving into our sinful natures. A life of premarital sex, getting drunk and thieving is far easier - but we know it leads to death. If you don't see this as hard, you truly are blessed. As far as I'm concerned, things are tough all over but through the grace of Christ alone can we make it.

Now I am definitely a newbie here, having been Catholic only since 2000 and a Christian only since about ... maybe 1998 (?). We all know that sh*t happens, whether you're Christian or not. The good, the bad, and the ugly, it's all part of just being alive.

My life in Christ, especially since the CRHP retreat (see sidebar for CRHP explanation), has made all that so much easier. Despite being asked to serve, being asked to stretch, being asked to do things I haven't wanted to sometimes ... it all has been so much more rewarding than going it alone and I have been able to see so much good come from it.

In fact, after the CRHP retreat I discovered that I was no longer afflicted with a problem that I had been struggling with for some time. It took me a while to figure it out but what a blessing that was. In fact, fairly recently, I realized just how much I had changed in general outlook toward life.

For most of my life I have been a "glass is half empty" girl. Always quick to see the negatives of any situation ... oh, and even more attractive, quick to dwell on those negatives.

My revelation of how much I had changed is found here.

Does that mean my life is always sunshine and lollipops? Pffft. Of course not. My personal feeling is that I have been set free. Certainly I can't agree that "to live against one's urges and to turn from temptation is far harder than giving into our sinful natures" because to give in to the particular urges that I suffered from made me so very tired, hopeless, and, occasionally, self loathing. The help, forgiveness, mercy, and ... yes, sheer grace of God that I have experienced in my struggles has made everything much easier than it was before.

But that is just my personal experience. I know that I have been so very blessed and have been brushed very lightly by suffering while I have watched others struggle under very heavy burdens.

So what has everyone else's experience been with this?

Is the Christian life harder than giving in to our sinful natures? Is living in sin easier?