Walking with the Wise #28: Impetuous Actions

“My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,

have given your pledge for a stranger,

if you are snared in the words of your mouth,

caught in the words of your mouth,

then do this, my son, and save yourself,

for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:

go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor.

Give your eyes no sleep

and your eyelids no slumber;

save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

like a bird from the hand of the fowler.” 

—Proverbs 6:1-5

Money isn’t the first subject that comes to mind whenever we think of spiritual things. However, the Bible is all encompassing, speaking to the entirety of the human condition. And money is one of the major things that we deal with on an everyday basis, which is why Solomon wrote about it. He knew that we'd need to know how to handle ourselves in some of the sticky financial situations in which we might find ourselves.

The Bible talks a great deal about money. Jesus said that our money (or the treasures money can by) reveals the status of our heart (Matthew 6:21). In His interaction with the rich young ruler, Jesus told him to sell everything he had and then follow Him, but he wouldn’t because he had great wealth and didn’t want to give it up (Mark 10:22). There are many who refuse to follow Christ because of their love of money. Paul warned about it:

“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs”—1 Timothy 6:9-10.

Our world today is a consumer-driven, credit-obsessed, instantaneous gratification world. People want what they want now and aren’t willing to wait. Everyone around us seems to be getting what they want, and we don’t want to feel left out, so we deceive ourselves or rationalize that we need something, when the reality is, we really don’t need it, but merely want it. Not only must we guard ourselves against the love of money, but we also must make sure that others' love for money doesn’t drag us down with them.

Many people have a desire to have things that they cannot afford. For some, in an effort to get something now rather than wait for it, they decide to buy it by getting a loan and having another cosign for it. But here is where we must look at the context of our passage more closely. It is a young man who has been asked to be a cosigner, and the one who has asked him is his “neighbor” (v. 1), but he is also a “stranger” (v. 1). Apparently, the neighbor has asked this young man to cosign for him, even though the young man doesn’t know him very well. Nevertheless, the young man foolishly agrees to cosign. The neighbor then simply defaults on the loan, leaving the young man to pay the debt, subject to the whim of the creditor, while the debtor goes off scot-free.

God’s Word not only lays out how we are to live rightly and keep away from sin, but it also advises us what we are to do after we’ve messed up. And here the proverb tells us that we need to plead for mercy from the creditor for the failure of our so-called neighbor. The young man was foolish and failed to act wisely. Experience is a merciless teacher, but those who have been in her classroom learn invaluable and painful lessons that are not quickly forgotten. Wisdom, in part, is the accumulated experiences of others applied to our current situation, and in today’s proverb Solomon is warning us all to think before we act, lest we agree to something that could easily work to our detriment.

We must be very careful in how we help our neighbor and be sure to test and temper our desire by the sure guide of God’s Word along with the input of godly counselors. The young man failed to consult others before he signed and found himself in a situation that an older and more experienced person would have otherwise avoided.

God’s Word is a pathway of wisdom that is far more valuable than silver or gold. It helps us avoid the pitfalls of life, and guides us to places of blessing and satisfaction. I pray that we all might see, appreciate, and apply the treasure stored up within God’s Word in order that we might experience the blessed life that God desires for His children. May we find our highest satisfaction in Him, and may He in turn be glorified in us. Amen.