Proverbs 11:15 (NASBStr)
He who is guarantor for a stranger will surely suffer for it,
But he who hates being a guarantor is secure.
Proverbs 11:15 (ESV Strong's)
Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm,
but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure.
Solomon was a man of great means. He had been blessed by God and had been given plenty of riches by the kingdoms around him who wanted to make sure they were not destroyed by his army. He had been blessed by God because he had not asked for riches. Yet, God gave him blessings anyhow. Yet, despite his blessings, Solomon was wise in his understanding of financial needs and warnings. There is something interesting in getting advice from someone who has riches and is warning you on how to keep yours. He is telling us that if we want to be safe in our financial planning to stay away from incurring others peoples debts, or at least the responsibility for their debts. He even goes to the extent to tell us that if we "hate" the concept of guaranteeing someone else's debts we will be secure. He stresses that signing your name to the contract of another, especially, in this verse, a stranger (foreigner) is the first step in suffering. It should be noted, however, that this is what Christ did for us. He took our debts. Yet, he took them and suffered gravely for them. That is what Solomon is telling us. We will suffer for another in the case of guaranteeing another's payment. Christ set that example for us. Solomon, recording God's Words for us, tell us to avoid that suffering. Banks and lending institutions love to have co-signers. That allows them to put more people into the debt cycle. It should be noted that Solomon is warning about co-signing for a “stranger.” The risk of signing to back up the debt is unwise and God is warning us to avoid that risk.
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