Fun Vs. Joy

Fun is playful activity resulting in pleasure. Pleasure is the enjoyment you receive in this life. It's self-indulgence. You engage in fun for your own interests.
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Joy is the emotion which you feel because your happy. You're in high spirits. Yes, it too is pleasurable. We all like to feel good.
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Fun is entirely worldy. Joy may be worldly or spiritual. We would never think “I'm having FUN in the Lord”, but on the other hand we say “I have JOY in the Lord”. Whereas, fun is playful, joy is sincere. Joy in the Lord is the most sincere pleasure a person can have. Fun and worldly pleasure don't even compare with joy!
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The big difference is that the joy you feel is because you're in high spirits. Your spirits are high because you have hope, and that spiritual hope is translated into physical pleasure. My emotions and their affect on my body are with a sensation of pleasure. I have pleasure because of the hope I have!
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What I'm saying is the same as what the message is in Acts (KJV) 2:26 “Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:”
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Here you can see that rejoicing (joy) results in rest for your body. When your heart is right with God it affects you, not only spiritually, but physically. Likewise, when you're heart isn't right it can have dire effects. You may have this sinking feeling which depresses you to nausea and sleeplessness. It may be due to great sins. Only with spiritual restoration can you return to fleshly health. The continued hope of salvation makes you well again!
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“Fun” is normally associated with more common sins of the flesh: drunkenness, infidelity, gambling, drug use, illicit sex, blasphemous humor, and even theft. Don't get me wrong, all fun isn't sinful, but I'm making a difference between benign fund and sinful fun. The former is right in God's eyes and the latter is rebellion. However, either way, if you live for fun, either good fun or bad, your priorities are wrong. We are to live for joy in the Lord. Sometimes too much fun of either kind takes us out of communication with God; we don't pray enough, we don't read the Bible enough, we don't witness enough and so on. We need to watch our priorities. Fun is temporal. Joy through hope is eternal.
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We need to be careful not only what type of fun we have, but have some self control. We mustn't be devoted to a life of fun.
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Job (KJV) 36:11 “If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.”
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You see, God wants us to have pleasure (fun), but the type of fun we are to have is “clean fun”, fun where we obey God!
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Psalm (KJV) 5:4 “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.”
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If you're a Christian you have the Spirit of God residing in you. Evil has no place in a Christian's heart since that's God's dwelling place. God hates wicked behavior... wicked fun. Face it... sin is fun. Satan uses pleasure to make us sin. If sin wasn't pleasurable we wouldn't do it would we? A Christian must discern what's wicked and what's not. It's fairly easy. If God forbids the activity it's wrong! If the Holy Spirit makes you feel guilt it's wrong!
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We have fun when we go to see our favorite team play (and winning is even more fun)! Is that wrong? Did it violate God's law? No. Did the Holy Spirit make you feel guilty. I hope not!
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On the other hand some people shop-lift for pleasure. They like the high they get in not getting caught. Does God forbid stealing? Yes. Do you feel guilty. Some people don't! The lack of guilt doesn't make it right!!!! Others may feel guilt. That's God checking your sinful behavior. That's his call to us that we need to repent and resume our communion with Him.
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The more right you do, the better you feel. If you have no sins unforgiven you're joyous. Sin is burdensome. With sin there is no joy in Mudville that day... not until you repent. If one continues a lifestyle of rebellion they become acclimated to the feeling of guilt sent by the Holy Spirit. That's a hardened heart and there may be no hope for you and hence, no joy.
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Romans (KJV) 15:13 “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
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The choice is ours! We feel joy and peace because of our hope in God... that God will say “Well done good and faithful servant!” Can he say that about you? Judge yourself!