This will make threatening him with it much more effective. As none of these views of death is bad nor inherently scary, it's clear that the views of death formed as a child still control the emotional reactions many adults have toward death. This may be true in some cases, but only because they have not been taught the inevitability of death, and the value of the interval between now and the inevitable. When seen as a deadline, death can be used as a tool for doing. This knowledge once again stresses the importance of choice in the planning and living of life.
Death encourages action.
We only have so much time left, so let's get going. Death encourages risk. The downest of the downside in any risk is death. Life is a sexually transmitted terminal disease. Death reminds us how much we owe the past and the future.