Proverbs 6:2
If you have been snared with the words of your mouth,
Have been caught with the words of your mouth,
It is hard not to be caught in the above scenario. If you are old enough to talk, you are old enough to be caught in a snare with your words. In the context of Proverbs 6 Solomon is talking about making a pledge to someone you shouldn't or making a pledge about something you shouldn't. If you offer to support your friend and you can't or shouldn't you have snared yourself by your words. If you have promised to pay a debt for someone and you shouldn't have, you are caught by your words. He goes on and tell us how to deliver ourselves in the following verses. However, before we try to deliver ourselves we have to admit we are caught. Before we find relief, we have to know we are in need of relief. This verse is not the solution but the admission of the need. We will have times in our lives when our words catch us and trap us. To get out of that situation we have to admit we have misspoken. That takes humility and a loss of pride. It is not "if" we have been snared but "if" we will admit the snare.
God takes making a vow very seriously. Note the following:
Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 (ESV)
When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.
Psalms 15:4 (ESV)
in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the LORD;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
When it comes to “giving a pledge” for others we put ourselves at risk. It “snares” our mouths according to Solomon. Solomon, in this proverb, wants us to come to the realization that making a vow puts us in risk, especially when you are making a vow to cover for someone else’s vow. It is one thing to make a vow about your own life. But, when you attempt to make a vow to cover someone else’s needs, you put yourself at risk.
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