Proverbs 22:26-27 (AMP):
26 Be not one of those who strike hands and pledge themselves, or of those who become security for another's debts.
27 If you have nothing with which to pay, why should he take your bed from under you?
Verse 26 speaks of making a pledge and striking hands. Today we shake hands on an agreement and sign papers that pledge we will carry out the words on the contracts that we have signed. They become legal documents. Years ago in our country, many people never even signed contracts, they just shook hands on an agreement and because both men were honest and honorable, they carried out that agreement. If they gave their word, they kept it. We should always take every agreement that we sign very seriously. We are giving our word to do something and this is a serious thing before God and men. So if we are surety for someone, we must keep our promise because we have given our word. If we are men and women of our word, then we are bound to keep our word, even when it hurts. All of us have, at times, "sworn to our own hurt." We may wish that we had not done so, as then we had to keep our word, even when it was difficult to do so. God expects us, as His children, to keep our word, just as He keeps His Word.
Psalm 15:4b: ".... but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not."
Do these verses imply that we are never to help people if they ask us for help? Certainly not! However, most loan requests are not emergency help loans, but are loans to help people live in a lifestyle greater than they can afford. These kinds of loans will inevitably become difficult to keep the payments up, and the one who has become security will be held accountable for the indebtedness. It is not kind to co-sign a note that will, in the end, not really be helpful to people who have not learned financial Biblical principals. Many people who go into debt for expenditures beyond their means will, in time, leave the one who helped responsible for their debt. It would be better to just give people help for genuine needs, if we are able, than to loan them money.
Verse 27 warns us that if we have become surety for another and they fail to pay, it could create grave circumstances for us, if we were not in a position to assume the requirements of the note. If fact, it could be that it might even lead to a foreclosure, causing us to lose our furniture and home, thus our bed would be literally taken from under us.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for the wisdom in the book of Proverbs. Help us to apply it in every area of our lives. Help us to be wise in our spending and in our financial affairs. Lord, help us to keep our word in the greater matters of life, as well as in the small things. Lord, when I tell someone I will do something, help me to follow through. Remind me, should I forget. May people say about me, that I am a person who keeps their word. Help us all, as Your people, to be honest and operate with integrity in all of our financial affairs. Teach us Your financial principles, and help us resist going the way of the world that leads to more and more debt. Teach us Your wisdom in our financial affairs. I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
