Proverbs 6:1-5 (NIV)
1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, 2 you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth. 3 So do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go—to the point of exhaustion— and give your neighbor no rest! 4 Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids. 5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, 2 you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth. 3 So do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go—to the point of exhaustion— and give your neighbor no rest! 4 Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids. 5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
In these verses Solomon warns his son about having a lack
of good sense and foresight. He give warning about helping another secure their
debt; for by pledging to do so holds one captive to a debt they had no part in.
Solomon indicates it is so important to remove the pledge one should do
everything possible, including disregarding sleep, in order to break free of
that promise.
There is a story I have heard many times in our family.
Employees at a company where a family member worked could participate in the
company credit union. The credit union allowed unsecured loans if a person
obtained signatures of other credit union members who would guarantee payment. One
employee was replacing the carpet in their home and needed a loan. So she asked
the family member and several other people to sign the guarantee for her loan,
which they did. Back then most people trusted the other employees they worked
with. Well once this person had their home newly carpeted they quit their job,
put their house up for sale and moved – never paying their debt. You can
probably guess what happened next. The people who signed the guarantee had to
split the payments among them and pay her debt.
What I love about The Bible is the wisdom it provides us.
Thousands of years before this family member signed for this other person’s
debt the words of The Bible had already warned them against doing so. If only
they had taken to heart the wisdom Solomon gave they would have avoided paying another’s
debt.
This is why it is so important to read The Bible and
understand its words. For in The Bible we are given life lessons of others to follow
or avoid. We are taught how to enrich our lives and avoid pain and misery. We
are taught that God loves us and provides forgiveness, mercy and grace for sin.
And we are given a plan for salvation that we can know for certain how to have
eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Read and enjoy The Bible so you might have the wisdom you
need for life in this world.
No comments:
Post a Comment