Proverbs 6:4-5 (ESV)
4 Give your eyes no sleep
and your eyelids no slumber;
5 save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
The father explains the great lengths to which his son must go to free himself from any foolish decision to put up a pledge for someone else’s debts. The son should make this matter a top priority and not even sleep until he gets out of his dire financial situation. Just as animals make every effort to escape the hunter’s trap, so should the financial backer work to get out of his unwise arrangement. Even if we don’t cosign or pledge for another’s debts, we should avoid making any sizable financial decisions without long and prayerful thought. If you have agreed to a financial contract and see the foolishness of your decision, get out of it immediately. And if you are obligated and can’t be released, make it your priority to pay it off as quickly as possible. Think and think again before you sign on the next dotted line.