Procrastinators are not happy people. They injure their relationships with others by not honoring their commitments. Folks tire of their excuses. “The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion outside!’” (Prov. 22:13)—and so puts off his commitment another day. There is a dishonesty in such exaggerations. It’s not that a lion is wandering loose, it’s just that the procrastinator has loosed himself of priority concerns and wanders about doing trivial things or sitting idly doing nothing while the really important matters are neglected. His work is always twice as hard because it’s done in a hurry, done at the last minute, and never done his best. It’s a hard life. It seems to him that others have an easier go of it. They do. Because “the way of the sluggard is a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway” (Prov. 15:19).

Childhood without a switching is not a happy existence. There is nothing like a good whipping to relieve a burdened conscience. The conscience sits as jury over our actions—either commending or condemning our acts. Never is it more sensitive than when we are young. When the conscience, our jury, pronounces us “guilty” but observes no punishment given, this internal judicial system breaks down. The power of the conscience to convict and motivate becomes weaker until finally it stops sitting in judgment over our actions. The jury stops assembling. There’s no quicker way to injure the conscience and so the happiness of a child than for wrongdoing to go unpunished. “Discipline your son while there is hope, and do not desire his death” (Prov. 19:18).

Folks who neglect God’s boundaries are not happy folks. Laws reflect the character of the lawgiver. God’s perfect justice and mercy means that observing His laws will insure our peace and well-being. Neglect his designs in marriage, forget moderation in pleasure, forsake restraint in drink, abandon caution in choosing your friends, relinquish control of your tongue and your temper—live life without restraint. That’s a sure way to be miserable. God doesn’t desire our unhappiness. That’s why He gave us His laws. He is perfectly contented. His laws make us like Him. Come under His discipline and you’ll be happy too. To seek His discipline is to seek your best. “He who neglects discipline despises himself, but he who listens to reproof acquires understanding” (Prov. 15:32).