Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Proverbs 11: 15 Beware of Signing for Other’s Debts

Proverbs 11: 15 (NKJV)


15 He who is surety for a stranger will suffer,
But one who hates being surety is secure.


The definition of “surety” is: 1. a person who takes legal responsibility for the fulfillment of another's debt or obligation 2. security given as a guarantee that an obligation will be met.


This verse warns us that becoming responsible for someone else’s debt is not very wise. It gives the impression that IF you should even think about doing this for someone, you should be very sure that you know that person VERY well. If you don’t, you are taking a big chance and you should understand that this can cause all kinds of problems between you and the person that you are trying to help.


I would tend to think that if a “stranger” would even ask a person that they didn’t know, to do something like this for them, then it would be likely that they would be trying to take advantage of that person.


The second part of this verse seems to imply that “hating” to be in that type of situation is actually being very wise, and this kind of wisdom will cause the person to be secure in their own financial dealings.

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