In Proverbs, chapter six, verse one, warns about becoming “surety” for a friend as in Proverbs eleven, verse fifteen, chapter seventeen, verse eighteen, and chapter twenty-two, verse twenty-six, which means accepting responsibility for someone’s debt if they fail to pay it. The gesture makes a co-signer’s financial situation dependent upon a friend’s actions and subject to events beyond their control. It can lead to poverty, as in Proverbs twenty-two, verses twenty-six to twenty-seven, and the loss of lifelong friendships. However, this does not mean that we should refuse to help someone in real need of the necessities in life, as in Exodus twenty-two, verse fourteen, Leviticus twenty-five, verse thirty-five, and Matthew five, verse forty-two. Still, we should give to the unfortunate rather than lend to them, as in Mark fourteen, verse twenty-one, and Mark ten, verse twenty-one, respectively.
At the beginning of the theme verse, “My son, if thou be surety for thy friend.” There is a verse in Proverbs eighteen, which is the twenty-fourth, declaring, “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” It is good for a person to be friendly and enjoy friends, but there must be a point where the friendship line stands. Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend, as in Proverbs six, verse three.
Many people today show more concern for their friends than their family. Although believers must honor fathers and mothers and love their neighbors as themselves, which are a part of the Ten Commandments, they should assure their friends about them. A friend must know the Word of God and have respect for the companion as well as the family.