May 16, 2026 Morning Devotional

Morning Devotion: Read Proverbs

Proverbs 22:26  Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. 27  If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?

There is an important lessen here about credit. Very often, those who are in need and without the resources to help themselves get into trouble because of debt. They borrow without having the wherewithal to pay their debt.

When that happens the creditor has the right to take that which the borrower has received. (Read Matthew chapter 18:21-35)

The idea in these verses is about those who strike hands, not shake hands. Striking hands gives us the indication that the borrower operated on impulse rather than common sense not considering the cost nor the surety of the debt.

God has given us His word to help us live in this sin cursed world. He shows us how to handle money and debt. One very important piece of advice is knowing what you have and controlling what you have without willy nilly spending on frivolous things.

Proverbs 27:23  Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

Proverbs 27:23 simply instructs us to know what we have in assets, resources, equity and savings. When we look well to what we have we will be cautious about what we spend.

If you should get into debt, God helps us with that as well.  Don’t be hasty in buying something you don’t need or something you can do without. Never buy on impulse. If you get in debt, pay it off as soon as possible.

Proverbs 6:1  My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, 2  Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. 3  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. 4  Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. 5  Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

There is one debt that we all owe, that is the debt of sin. There are a lot of people trying to pay off the debt of sin and cannot for that debt is eternal. You cannot pay the eternal with the finite.

Jesus paid that debt; we must trust in the Lord Jesus by believing He paid that debt for us. We cannot do good works to pay that eternal debt.

Romans 4:3  For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4  Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5  But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I owed a debt I could not pay, He paid a dept He did not owe.

The choice is still yours,

Pastor Cook