Free Yo’self!
March 11, 2019
My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth. So do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go—to the point of exhaustion—and give your neighbor no rest! Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids. Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler. Proverbs 6:1-5
The Proverbs writer is describing one way of getting into debt in very vivid terms. He says that co-signing for another person, or allowing yourself to make a “pledge” for another person can entrap and ensnare you. He says the moment you realize you have done this (or made any other foolish decision that leads you to indebtedness) your primary financial purpose must be to disentangle yourself from those people. He goes so far as to say it should be such a priority that you are willing and happy to stay up late at night working for a solution. Proverbs tells us we should be willing to give up sleep in order to work on a solution and get ourselves free. That’s significant! Debt is just that debilitating.
Proverbs depicts us when we are carrying debt as an animal that is being pursued by a hunter, or a bird that is caught in the snare of a professional trapper. Spare no effort to free yourself! In many ways, your life truly depends on it.
- Do you have a debt or a mountain of debt that seems insurmountable? This is the time to free yourself. It may take awhile to get untangled, but if you work very hard to not add any further debt, that’s a start.
- Set a specific time immediately to think about, not worry about, a solution. How can you reduce the debt and get money to begin to untangle yourself?
- Make it a daily matter of prayer: Father, I want to follow Your principles, and I am getting a late start financially. I need Your wisdom. Lead me to the right people to advise me, the right thoughts to direct me. I will do whatever You make clear to me. Thank You. Amen.