“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 neighborʼs 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
Previously, I referred to this text in the manner of giving and having a gracious heart. This week we will look at how this enslaves us.
God doesn’t desire for us to enslave ourselves.
We sin when we take things over the limit we can pay. We are being dishonest with whoever we are borrowing from.
Credit cards are a big example. 7 in 10 Americans have at least one credit card according to Credit Card News Ownership Statistics.
“The total U.S. outstanding revolving debt, which is chiefly made up of credit card balances, was $953.3 billion as of May 2016. The average debt is $5,540 per U.S. adult with a credit card and $9,600 per household with credit card debt. The amount of average credit card debt has been steadily increasing over the long term. As of 2013, a person born between 1980 and 1984 had on average $5,689 more in credit card debt than his or her parents (those born between 1950 and 1954) at the same stage of life and $8,156 more in credit card debt than his or her grandparents.” Credit Card News
So many of us become trapped with the slick advertising, the desire to have more and more.
Resist the devil’s snare.
The word tells us not to make agreements with strangers (Prov 6:1) and if we do, we are to humble ourselves and work tirelessly to get out of it (Prov 6:3-5). We are not friends with the credit card companies or entities trying to convince us to borrow and borrow.
The same applies for store cards… It is all borrowing.
Food for thought: Are you borrowing? Are you in credit card debt? God is the provider of all our needs. Let us heed the wisdom of Solomon so we can live a more peaceful and joyful life.
Prayer: Abba Father, thank you for your wisdom, truth and insight. Your word is such a beacon of light in a world that is getting darker. Father we need your strength in resisting the devil’s snare. In Jesus name. Amen