The past two Proverb studies have covered  sins of the flesh.  This week is another kind of sin, and it has to do with making promises about money. 

Proverbs 6:1-5

King James Version (KJV)

6 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

² Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

This has to do with making promises  to others in terms of financial debt.  Either involving yourself in a venture on behalf of your own interest, or someone else (like a family member or friend as in co-signing) is against The LORD’s perfect will.  Even personal mortgages are immoral in this respect – because you are purchasing something that you may not be able to repay.  By signing a contract such as that you have – “stricken hands with a stranger” (a bank or lending institution.)  As every person is aware of in this country and around the word – banks do not think twice about ejecting you from the house or car – because technically – you never owned them to begin with.  It was always the banks’ – unless and until you pay it in entirety. 

v.2 – you said it – you own it! 

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

The LORD says – do not rest until you have cleared up the debt!

⁵ Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

The purveyors of debt are likened here to a hunter!  As hunters are wont to do – they set traps – and foolish prey step into them. 

[what is being discussed here is personal debt – not business]

By Dave Ramsey

Myth: Debt is a tool and should be used to help create prosperity.
Truth: Debt isn’t used by wealthy people nearly as much as we are led to believe.

Debt is dumb. Most normal people are just plain broke because they are in debt up to their eyeballs with no hope of help. If you’re in debt, then you’re a slave because you do not have the freedom to use your money to help change your family tree.

According to a USA Today article about debt, 78% of Baby Boomers have mortgage debt, 59% have credit card debt, and 56% have car payments. It takes a lot of will, discipline, courage and help to slay the debt monster. But it can be done. Imagine how much you could put toward retirement if you just didn’t have a stinking car payment? This is how the wealthy really build their wealth. Debt is dumb. Welcome to the real world!

Consider the Risk

My contention is that debt brings on enough risk to offset any advantage that could be gained through leverage of debt. Given time—a lifetime—risk will destroy the perceived returns purported by the myth-sayers. I once was a myth-sayer myself and could repeat the myths very convincingly. I was especially good with the “debt is a tool” myth. I even sold rental property that was losing money to investors by showing them, with very sophisticated internal rates of return, how they would actually make money!

1 Timothy 6:6

But godliness with contentment is great gain.