Thought for the Day

These Proverbs, in essence, tell us to avoid a man who has a bad character. We have a description of that character in these scriptures.

Verse 16 - In the Amplified version, this verse begins like this: "The judge tells the creditor..." In other words, this is a declaration of how a man who is deceitful should be treated by the court. The judge says he is not to be trusted; therefore his garment must be kept for security until he settles with the court.

Proverbs advises us not to take surety for a stranger. What is surety? It means that a person will secure another's payment with something, or will pledge to pay his debt if he fails to pay it. We are told that if we do this for someone whom we do not know that well, we will end up hurting for it, since we can lose all that we have put up for them. Strangers, who have the audacity to ask someone they do not even know to be surety for them, usually do not possess the character to repay the debt. It is better to avoid this kind of dealing, so that we will not be stuck with the penalty of paying someone else's debt.

There are many scams going around and most of them could be avoided if we heeded the principal of not trusting a stranger when they ask for money for an investment. Many times the person who is gullible and falls for these scams will end up not only losing their money, but they can also end up being arrested as part of the scam too, if they get deeply involved with the wrong kind of people.

Verse 17 - This verse sends a warning to those who would be tempted to use deceit and fraud. At first, a stolen thing tastes good, but after a while it will turn to gravel in one's mouth. Anything that we do in a deceitful manner will come back to haunt us because it triggers the law of sowing and reaping: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Galatians 6:7-8).

Proverbs is full of good advice and, as we apply it to our lives, we will dwell in peace in this earth. We will not fall into the traps of the devil that will cause us trouble and pain, if we heed the advice in this book of wisdom.