“Deliver yourself”

[Proverbs 6:1-5]

Have you ever made a guarantee for someone?  For example, here in the US, when you buy a car, you co-sign with a bank loan.  In other words, the obligation to pay off what one owns is the same as the debtor.  So, if the debtor fails to faithfully pay off what he owes, the joint guarantor is obligated to pay the debt.  Have any of you ever done that co-sign?  Have you ever paid the bank for a car price a month or two because you co-signed?  I was in trouble few years ago when a church member asked me to co-sign a car.  At that time, he seemed to be kind and faithful, but I politely refused that I couldn't co-sign.  Of course, he had a stable job at that time, and his wife was considered a very good person, and I think there was little reason to refuse.  However, one thing that stuck in my mind was that I cannot guarantee for someone in the church and don’t guarantee other church member.  So I thought it was better not to make the guarantee for everybody in the church.  At that time, even though I didn't co-sign that church member, he came to church shortly after with his new car.  So I thought maybe someone else co-signed.  Then, when the couple moved to another city, they had no choice but to leave our church.  But later I heard that the couple broke up.  And the news was cut off with both of them.  Of course, this is my personal experience and my personal thoughts about making guarantee for others.  Your thoughts could be different with me.  The more important thing is whether our thoughts are truly biblical or not.  In other words, what the Bible says about guarantees is the most important thing.

In Proverbs 6:1-5, King Solomon is talking about taking a guarantee for his neighbor.  The point of his words is that if we made the guarantee for our neighbor (v. 1) and then when we fell into the hands of that neighbor (vv. 2-3), that is, when we took on the responsibility of fulfilling the debt of that neighbor, the Bible says to deliver ourselves (v. 5).  What does it mean?  Now, the Bible warns us against doing the foolish thing.  Here, the foolish act refers to promising, i.e., a guarantee, for the person who defaults, knowing that the other person owes it beyond repayment (MacArthur).  Dr. Park Yun-sun, of course, doesn't seem to think that the Bible warns that making a guarantee here itself is the foolish act (Park).  The reason is because when our neighbor is in trouble financially, acting as a guarantor for him can also be the practice of Christ's love for our neighbor.  However, the foolish act that King Solomon warns here is that, according to Dr. Park, if the guarantor was not prepared to be actually responsible in the event of an accident, the guarantor who was deceived by others and became the guarantor, or the guarantor who did not have the financial ability to fulfill the responsibilities (Park).  Of course, if we have the financial ability to pay off the debt and are willing to make that guarantee for our loved ones, it is fine.  But even better, the Bible says that we give financial assistance to our loved one in need of financial assistance rather than guarantee for that loved one (cf. Deut. 15:1-15; 19:17) or lending money without interest  (cf.: Lev. 25:35-38; 28:8) (MacArthur).

            As you may have heard through the news this time that the United States, which is an economic powerhouse, has been pushed to default situation.  Of course, it’s fortunate to have a dramatic settlement between the Republicans and the Democrats.  But what would have happened if the United States went to default?  As a result, if the US economy was hit hard, which country would realistically promise to repay that much debt?  Would rich China do that?  As if there is no country that will try to secure or guarantee it even in such a national debt default, it will not be easy to find a person who personally owes too much debt to pay off the debt.  In particular, it is a foolish act to stand up for a guarantee without the financial ability to pay the debt.  But what would be the consequences if we were not able to afford it, but made the guarantee that promised responsibility for paying the debts of another person?  The result is, as we say in Proverbs 6:5, as if we, who had the guarantee, will be captured in the hand of a money lender and will be in his control like being in the hands of the hunters and in the hand of the fowler.  I think this is like borrowing money from a lender and playing out of the hands of the lender after using it up without being able to pay for it.  How foolish is this?  Why do people lend money from the lenders even though they obviously know the results when they don’t have ability to repay anything?  That’s why the Bible Proverbs 22:26b says, “Do not be a man who puts up security for debts.”  The Bible says that “a man lacking in sense” pledges and becomes guarantor in the presence of his neighbor (17:18).  That’s why we should never be those who lack in sense and without wisdom.  In other words, we shouldn't be fools.  We will never be in the lender's control of the lender's hand, as if we were in the hands of the lender as a hunter and as a bird in the hand of the fowler, as if we were in the hands of others' debts.

But what should we do if we are foolish and make the guarantee for our neighbor, and then we assume responsibility for paying that neighbor's debts?  This is the core lesson of today’s passage.  That core lesson, in a word, is ‘Deliver yourself’ [(6:3) “deliver yourself”, (v. 5) “Deliver yourself”].  Then how can we deliver ourselves?  Look at Proverbs 6:3 – “Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself; Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor, Go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor.”  The Bible tells us to go to our neighbor and humble ourselves and press our pleas with him.  Here, what does the phrase ‘humble ourselves and press our pleas’ mean?  According to a scholar named Walvoord, that means to crush ourselves and be crushed by stepping on ourselves, to lie down to the point of damaging our own prestige or dignity and to plead with our neighbor (Walvoord).  Sometimes when I watch Korean dramas, I remember seeing a scene where someone was dragged by a loan shark and fell down on his knees to the point where he felt humiliated, bagging with both hands and asking for a longer period of debt payment.  If it was us, would we humbly and earnestly bag the lender who lent us our money while feeling so humiliated?  The lesson from verse 3 is that if we become guarantors of others without a sense of responsibility, then we should ask our creditors or those who have benefited from them to revoke that guarantee (Park).  The Bible says that the guarantee should be revoked, but until it is canceled, we should not take our time and rest.  Look at verse 4: “Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.”  How can we stop sleeping?  What Dr. Park is talking about here is that since this is important and urgent work, we should make an effort to cancel the warranty with a sense of urgency.  Just imagine.  What if we are now in such an urgent situation, as if a roe deer was in the hand of the hunter, or as a bird in the hand of the fowler?  Would we just be able to stay still?  I am sure we will not.  If we were caught in the hands of the hunter and the fowler, how would we not struggle to survive there anyway?  Likewise, if we become guarantors of others without the sense of responsibility and are suddenly in a situation where we have to pay our debts, we should try to cancel the guarantee with the sense of urgency.  We must go and humbly and earnestly beg the lender to cancel the debt.  Therefore, in the situation of economically enslaved, we must save ourselves and enjoy freedom.

As of the end of January, as of the end of January, the U.S. debt was 14.60 trillion dollars, which was 5 times the US budget in 2010, which was 3 trillion dollars.  It is said to be an astronomical amount, which is 54 times the 2011 Korean budget.  Surprisingly, the fiscal problem of the US federal government is that the US state debt is increasing by $100,000 every 5 seconds.  And it is said that 390 million people in the United States, including newborn babies in their cradle, owed $45,390 per person (Internet).  It seems we can’t imagine how serious this is.  So, some people have seen an article that refers to the United States as ‘The debt empire on the verge of bankruptcy.’  Would it be the only American country now?  I know that the US federal government as well as the California economy is also serious.  The city of Los Angeles has also faced an economic crisis, and many companies are facing economic hardship.  Isn't that the case with the immigrant church now?  Isn't there a church that built a chapel “by faith” (?) when it's economically good, and is now facing bankruptcy due to economic difficulties?  Why did it go so far?  As Dr. Park is on the alert, isn't it because the church now has an economic adventure under the word "faith"?  What about our families?  There seems to be too much debt.  The Bible clearly tells us not to owe anything to anyone except the debt of love (Rom. 13:8).  But I think as stewards of God, we aren’t managing our finances well faithfully.  In the midst of that, we are also giving guarantees to our neighbor under the name of “love our neighbors” (?).  Then we are in a situation where we owe money to the lender because of the default, and we have to pay it back.  What should we do?  The Bible says “Deliver yourself” (Prov. 6:3, 5).  If we aren’t wise and make a wrong guarantee, we must save ourselves even by begging to the extent that we feel humiliated at the lender to cancel the guarantee.  We ought to beg, but knowing the importance and urgency of the problem and knowing it, we should not take it easy. We must save ourselves with urgency and enjoy freedom.  However, we can't help but question whether the lender will cancel our guarantee.  Which lender will do that?  Can we really save ourselves?  Couldn't only the Savior the Lord deliver us from such situation?  We must pray earnestly as we beg the Savior Lord.  Since we cannot save ourselves, we must long for God's saving power in our incompetence.  And we must ask God, who gives to all generously and without reproach (Jam. 1:5).  Therefore, we shouldn’t guarantee that promise responsibility for paying the debt on our own for the person who defaults to knowing the condition in which the debt is owed beyond the repayment of others.