Co-Signer Principles To Live By

Day Eleven

Co-Signer Principles (Read Proverbs 6:1-5)

Our wisdom reading today hits on a sensitive subject: money and stewardship. Unless you were raised to be a responsible steward of your money, the likelihood of you having money problems is almost automatic. There have been just about as many books, movies, songs, poetry, and tragic real-life stories around money as love. If you combine the two, well, look out.

A famous quote from the Bible is often misquoted: "Money is the root of all evil." The proper quote can be found in 1 Timothy, "¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:10)." It's the "LOVE" of money that's at the root, not the source itself.

The concept of credit has been around for thousands of years, but the history of credit in the United States began in the 1800s. You have probably heard the old saying, "Some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and others with a plastic one." Most people start their adult life with a plastic spoon. Leveraging credit is almost inevitable for every person. People need credit to buy a home or car, go to school, or start a business. It seems natural in the 21^st century to apply for credit, but the Bible has much to say about money as a creditor and debtor.

6 My child, if you have put up security for a friend's debt
    or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger—
² if you have trapped yourself by your agreement
    and are caught by what you said—
³ 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.
⁴ Don't put it off; do it now!
    Don't rest until you do.
⁵ Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter,
    like a bird fleeing from a net.

Today, we are encouraged not to become a co-signer for anyone's debt, especially someone outside our immediate family, and even then, you must proceed with caution.

"The creditor hath a better memory than the debtor." ~ James Howell

The minute the money changes hands, the relationship changes forever. One is enslaved to the other, and it's not always the creditor doing the enslaving. The creditor becomes enslaved if the debtor fails to honor their promissory note. Think long and hard the next time someone asks you to co-sign for them. Our wisdom today tells us to run for our lives from such arrangements.

God gave humanity credit, and they squandered it repeatedly. He finally settled the debt once and for all. Our debtor accounts read $0 because of a gracious Father and his sacrificial Lamb. Amen!