Get Wisdom!! – Proverbs 17:18

Hey, wise women and men!! I hope that our Get Wisdom series is speaking into your life in amazing ways. Today I want us to look at a proverb that was a complete shocker to me. I had no idea that the Bible addressed the issue of co-signing loans for others. Did you? Let’s take a look at this very pertinent topic. Pick your translation of Proverbs 17:18.

A man lacking in judgment strikes hand in pledge

and puts up security for his neighbor. (NIV)

It’s poor judgment to guarantee another person’s debt

or put up security for a friend. (NLT)

It is not wise to promise to pay

what your neighbor owes. (NCV)

One without sense enters an agreement

and puts up security for his friend. (HCS)

WOW!! Did you know that? If you are like me, you have been asked to co-sign loans for others in the past. Did you do it? What was the outcome? It was not until I went through the Crown Financial Small Group Bible study that I discovered the Bible warns us against this behavior. Thankfully, I had never co-signed on a note prior to learning about this principle in God’s Word.

The statistics on co-signing are staggering. Consider the following from my Crown Financial Small group study handbook: 50 percent of those who co-signed for bank loans ended up making the payment, while 75 percent of those who co-signed for finance company loans ended up making the payment!!! The bad thing is that few people who co-sign actually plan to pay the loan.

What if you have co-signed for another person? Does the Bible address this situation? As a matter of fact, it does. In Proverbs 6:1-5 (NLT) we find Solomon saying this:

My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger—if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said—follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy. Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased. Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do. Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net.”

Weeellll, allrighty then! God is pretty danged serious about this issue of co-signing for others, isn’t He? So, what is the take home here?

I am so excited about all the wisdom we are gaining as we take this journey through the book of Proverbs. I’ll see you right back here next Monday!!