Last week I examined the Savior, the first of three kinds of fool in Proverbs 6:1-19.
At first glance there appears to be little connection between our world and this ancient practice of co-signing someone’s debt. At least that’s what I thought, until the day I led a Bible study on this passage and a girl broke down in tears because her parents had charged thousands of dollars to credit cards in her name. She had always thought it was good for her to rescue her parents by using her own unsullied credit to give them more margin. If she hadn’t, they might not have been able to make a mortgage payment. They might lose a car or their furniture. They might not be able to afford college tuition for her siblings.
Becoming surety, or co-signing loans, is actually so common today that we struggle to believe it’s problematic. Parents co-sign education loans for their children. Young adults share credit cards with their parents. Credit card companies (or other financial service providers) require entrepreneurs to sign a “personal guarantee” on a corporate line of credit. In the event that the business should go bankrupt, the credit card company can require the executive to repay the company’s debt from his personal assets.
Now one could make a case that Solomon never states explicitly that it’s wrong to co-sign a loan. He says only that you should deny yourself sleep until you can get out of the deal. One could also propose that it’s okay to co-sign for a family member since the borrower Solomon has in mind is a “stranger” (Prov 6:1). But I don’t suggest banking your opinion on that single word. It’s parallel to “neighbor,” which has quite a broad range of meaning. (See Prov 3:28.)
However, instead of debating the wisdom or folly of co-signing loans in certain situations, I would prefer to ask a more foundational question. Why does Solomon make this into such a big issue? Out of all the possible money-issues he could focus on, why warn against co-signing loans? Why not prohibit false weights and measures in the marketplace? Why not expose the evil of materialism? Why not denounce theft, bribery, extortion, larceny, or tax evasion?
The answer to these questions lies in yet another question: Why would a person even consider co-signing a loan? Why do people do it, when they know the risk is so great? Those who co-sign loans lack sense (Prov 17:18) and will surely suffer the loss of their own property (Prov 11:15, 22:26-27), so what could motivate someone to do it?
It’s simple: If a person I care about has a need, then I want to help.
Marc Falardeau (2011), Creative Commons
Perhaps the person in need has no one else to turn to. Maybe this person has exhausted every option. Perhaps bad luck and bad timing have collided in this person’s life, and I’m in a position to make it better. If I can help my loved one regain equilibrium, then I’ll have done my part. I can make the world a better place, and at least one person will thank me for it.
Note Solomon’s assumptions. Of course it’s important that we love others more than ourselves (Prov 3:27-35). Yes, we must image the Lord by helping those in need. But there are times when the best help we can offer is not to help. In other words, sometimes it’s unloving to rescue people from the consequences of their choices. And co-signing a loan is one of those times.
Wise people know that the need for rescue is urgent, but there’s only one who can accomplish it. There’s a savior, and I’m not he.
Question: How do you struggle with the temptation to rescue needy people?
Peter, I think this is a really difficult issue. Yes, we should not step in to be the savior. But don’t you find it hard to know when we are to help and when helping would cause more harm than good? Reading the book When Helping Hurts really opened my eyes to this issue in the context of short-term missions and foreign aid. Perhaps you are planning to do this in a future post, but do you have any examples to share where you’ve worked through this issue? Thanks!
I agree that it’s difficult and requires much wisdom. It’s not an easy issue, but I find it helpful to ask whether my help will bring the person closer to Christ, or whether my help is likely to support their distance from Christ. For example, as a parent I’m tempted to believe it will help my children to shield them from pain, but the Lord often uses pain to draw them near (Prov 13:24).
Or, let’s say there’s an abusive relationship, and the victim has worked to save the offender from justice. That’s not usually the best way to help.
In fact, any criminal situation makes for a pretty clear example (assuming that the law being broken is a just law in accordance with God’s word). It’s tempting to rescue people we love by hiding the evidence, sheltering the wrongdoer, or deceiving the authorities. But God commands, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”
Do any other principles come to mind for you?