Posted on 02/05/2022 10:00:45 PM PST by Pilgrim's Progress
“My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. 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” (Proverbs 6:1-3 KJV).
Some things are unavoidable—such as a home. When the Bible speaks of “food and raiment,” raiment is a covering. Not only does it cover your body in the sense of clothing, it also covers you in the sense of a home, a roof over your head. But when you begin to purchase things on credit that you don’t really need, and usually that is what you are buying when you buy on credit . . . “wants” instead of “needs” . . . things you could really do without. When you use credit, you pay more for the object than it is really costs. You begin to spend a great deal of money on “interest.” Much more than you realize, and much more than you even want to know. All folks want are those 36 easy payments and “give it to me now!” “The first payment isn’t due until next month! Glory to God! Hallelujah! I want to go bass fishing and I “NEED” that boat!”
Most of us that take out a mortgage to buy a house will end up paying double for that house before it is all done. That can’t always be helped, but consider all the interest on all the other credit cards and it becomes overwhelming.
So, to be a good steward. And really, you can often get the best buys by paying cash for things.
Anyway, the warning is to be real careful of surety or suretyship. And that is where someone is selling something on a promise to pay, an assure, that is, I’m sure he is going to pay because I checked out his assets. It’s hard to understand about credit anyway, you can really borrow unless you have collateral. If you have that, why don’t you spend that?
“My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth” (Proverbs 6:1-2 KJV).
“Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:5 KJV).
Now, if you vow to back up someone else’s loan and they default—you have to pay it. It’s better to keep your mouth shut and not volunteer. You have to pay, because you vowed to do it. You would have been better off not to do it, then to have to pay if they don’t. You know how you deliver yourself? You just don’t get into it. The best cure is an ounce of prevention—just don’t get into it.
Do you know why a bank requires a co-signer? Because they don’t believe the person asking for the loan can pay for it. Now, that ought to tell you something.
“A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend” (Proverbs 17:18 KJV).
When you co-sign for a friend and he defaults, you lose a friend. You not only end up making the payments, you also lose a friend. Don’t lose a friend.
“Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts” (Proverbs 22:26 KJV).
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