"Save Yourself"

 

 

 

[Proverbs 6:1-5]

 

 

Have you ever co-signed for someone? For example, here in the U.S., when buying a car, people sometimes co-sign for a loan at the bank. In Korean, it's called "연대보증" (joint guarantee). This means that the co-signer assumes the same obligation for repayment as the borrower. So, if the borrower does not repay the debt, the co-signer is required to pay it. Have any of you ever co-signed for someone? Has there been a time when you ended up paying the car loan for a month or two because you co-signed?

A few years ago, a Hispanic brother in the church asked me directly to co-sign for a car loan. I was in a bit of a difficult situation at the time. He seemed like a good, sincere brother, and I really wanted to help him. However, in that awkward moment, I had to politely decline. He had a stable job, his wife seemed like a good person, and I almost had no reason to refuse. But one thing that troubled me was my belief that I couldn’t be in a situation where some people co-signed and others did not. Personally, I also felt it was better not to co-sign. Later, he found someone else to co-sign for him, and before long, he came to church driving a new car. Then, as the couple moved to another city, they had no choice but to leave our church. Later, I heard they had separated, and I lost contact with them.

Of course, this is just my personal experience and my personal thoughts about co-signing. Your thoughts may be different, and that’s fine. What is more important is whether our thoughts align with the Bible’s teaching. In other words, what does the Bible say about co-signing?

In today’s passage from Proverbs 6:1-5, King Solomon speaks about co-signing or offering a guarantee for someone else. The main point of his advice is that if we give a guarantee or co-sign for someone, and we end up taking responsibility for that person's debt (verses 1-3), the Bible says we must "deliver ourselves" (verse 5). What does that mean? The Bible is warning us against foolish behavior. The foolish behavior is when we promise to take on the responsibility of paying someone else's debt—especially when we know they cannot pay it off (MacArthur). Dr. Park Yun-sun, however, did not seem to think that the Bible was warning against the act of co-signing itself, but rather against specific situations. His reasoning is that when we co-sign for someone who is in financial difficulty, it could be an act of Christ-like love for our neighbor.

However, according to Dr. Park, King Solomon is warning us about a foolish action, which he defines as when the co-signer is unprepared to take responsibility in case something goes wrong, or if the co-signer is misled into signing, or if the co-signer does not have the financial ability to meet the obligation (Park Yun-sun). Of course, if we have the financial ability to repay the debt and are prepared to co-sign for someone we love, it may not be a problem. However, the Bible teaches that rather than co-signing, it is better to help someone in need by giving them financial assistance directly (see Deuteronomy 15:1-15; 19:17) or by lending money without charging interest (see Leviticus 25:35-38; 28:8) (MacArthur).

As you may have heard through the news, the economic powerhouse of the United States was heading towards a default situation, meaning failure to meet debt obligations. Fortunately, a dramatic agreement between the Republicans and Democrats prevented this, but what would have happened if the U.S. had actually gone into default? If the U.S. economy had been significantly impacted, which country would realistically step forward to promise to pay off that massive debt? Would China, with its vast wealth, have done so?

Just as there is no country willing to offer collateral or a guarantee during a national default, it is equally difficult to find an individual willing to guarantee someone else's debt if that person is unable to repay it. Especially if the guarantor does not have the financial capacity to pay off the debt, offering a guarantee is a foolish act.

But, if we, without the financial means, promised to take on the responsibility of paying off a debt for a loved one, what would be the result? As the passage in Proverbs 6:5 tells us, the guarantor would be “caught in the hands of the hunter, like a deer,” or “trapped in the hands of the bird-catcher,” meaning we would fall under the control of the moneylender. It’s like borrowing money from a loan shark, spending it all without being able to repay, and ending up at the mercy of the moneylender. How foolish is that? Why do people borrow money from loan sharks knowing they have no ability to repay?

In Proverbs 22:26, we are warned, “Do not be a man who puts up security for debts.” The Bible also warns that the “foolish” person becomes a guarantor before their neighbor (Proverbs 17:18). We must never be the kind of person who lacks judgment or wisdom. In other words, we must not act foolishly. We should never recklessly become a guarantor for someone else’s debt, as this would lead us into the same trap as the deer caught by the hunter or the bird trapped in the net.

But if you and I, out of foolishness, become a guarantor for our neighbor and end up taking on their debt responsibility, what should we do? This is the key lesson in today’s passage. The essential teaching is simply this: the Bible says, “Save yourself” [(6:3) “… save yourself,” (5) “… save yourself”].

So, how can we save ourselves? Let's look at Proverbs 6:3: “My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor, go hastily and humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor to save yourself.” The Bible tells us to go to our neighbor and humbly plead with them. What does it mean to "plead humbly"? According to scholar Walvoord, it means to completely humble ourselves to the point of laying aside our dignity and pride, begging our neighbor to release us from the obligation (Walvoord).

I sometimes remember scenes from Korean dramas where a person is dragged to a loan shark and, feeling humiliated, kneels and begs with both hands to extend the time for repayment. Would we, like them, be willing to experience such humiliation and beg the moneylender, who lent us the money, humbly and earnestly? The lesson from verse 3 of today’s passage is that if we acted without responsibility, becoming a guarantor without a clear sense of obligation, we should plead and beg with the creditor or the person benefiting from the guarantee to release us from that responsibility.

The Bible also teaches that we must not procrastinate or rest while waiting for the guarantee to be canceled. In verse 4, it says: “Do not let your eyes sleep, nor your eyelids slumber.” This means that the matter is so urgent and serious that we must act with a sense of urgency to cancel the guarantee.

Imagine if you and I were in a situation as urgent as a deer caught by the hunter or a bird trapped in a net. What would we do? Would we just remain calm and wait? No! If we were caught by a hunter or a bird catcher, we would struggle to survive, wouldn’t we? In the same way, if we become a guarantor without responsibility and find ourselves in a situation where we must fulfill the debt, we must act with urgency to cancel the guarantee. We must go to the moneylender and humbly, earnestly beg for the guarantee to be canceled.

Therefore, in a situation where we have become financially enslaved, we must save ourselves and regain our freedom.

I would like to conclude with a reflection on the Word of God. Recently, the fact that the United States was heading towards a default (failure to meet its debt obligations) has come to light. As of the end of January, the national debt of the United States was $14.6 trillion, which is five times the U.S. budget of $3 trillion in 2010 and 54 times the South Korean budget of about $260 billion in 2011. This is an astronomically large amount. What is even more surprising is that the U.S. federal government’s fiscal problems are so serious that the national debt increases by $100,000 every 5 seconds. Furthermore, including newborns, the total U.S. population of 390 million people is on average burdened with $45,390 in debt per person (according to the internet). This situation is so severe that it is beyond our imagination. Some have even referred to the U.S. as a “debt empire on the verge of bankruptcy.”

And is this situation limited to the United States alone? Not only the U.S. federal government but also California’s economic crisis is severe. The city of Los Angeles is facing economic difficulties, and many companies are also going through financial struggles. What about immigrant churches right now? When the economy was doing well, some churches built their sanctuaries “by faith” (?), and now, facing economic difficulties, some of them are on the brink of bankruptcy. How did it come to this? As Dr. Park Yunseon warned, aren't some churches now taking economic risks under the name of “faith” (?). What about Christian families? It seems like there is too much debt. The Bible clearly tells us not to owe anything except the debt of love (Romans 13:8), but it seems that we, as God's stewards, are not managing our finances faithfully. Even so, under the guise of "loving our neighbor" (?), we sometimes act as guarantors for others. As a result, we find ourselves in situations where we owe money to lenders because of someone else’s default.

What should we do? Today, the Bible tells us to save ourselves (Proverbs 6:3, 5). If we have foolishly given a guarantee, we must save ourselves by even begging the lender, feeling humiliation, to cancel the guarantee. We should not take our time lightly, but instead realize the urgency and importance of the issue. We must act with urgency and desperation to save ourselves and enjoy our freedom. However, it is natural to question whether the lender will actually cancel our guarantee. Which lender would do such a thing? Can we really save ourselves? Only the Savior, the Lord, can rescue us from such a situation, can’t He? Therefore, we must pray earnestly, as though we are begging our Savior, for His deliverance.

Since we cannot save ourselves, in our incapacity, we must long for God's saving power. Moreover, we must ask God for wisdom, as James 1:5 says: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” Therefore, receiving wisdom from God, we must not become guarantors for others who have incurred debts so large that they cannot repay them, knowing that doing so would lead to defaults.