There is something exhilarating about finding a good shortcut. Whether its a shortcut on your commute to work or on your computer keyboard, we love to find them because we can save a lot of time and effort with a good shortcut. The best thing about a shortcut is that you feel like you are getting something for nothing. And according to Proverbs 6, that’s the problem with most shortcuts in life. Let’s take a look.

In verses 1-5, a warning is issued against going into debt. The specifics of this passage addressed the issue of volunteering to guarantee someone else’s debt. An example of this is found in Genesis 43 where Judah guaranteed the safe return of Benjamen to Jacob. When his safe return was in jeopardy, Judah had to offer himself as a slave in Benjamen’s place to Joseph. Judah was foolish to take such a risk knowing that could be the possible outcome. Solomon said to his son, do not be ensnared or trapped by this kind of obligation but do everything in your power to free yourself, lest you suffer the same fate as the gazelle at the hand of the hunter or the bird from the snare of the fowler.

In our context, the temptation is to use debt as a way to get ahead. Or at least that’s the rationale. I’ll finance this purchase with my credit card and my intention is to pay it off at the end of the month, or maybe next month, or maybe by the end of the year. The problem comes when the unexpected happens and we cannot make the payment and the house of cards comes tumbling down. Going into debt looks like a great shortcut to ‘get ahead’ but is actually a foolish risk that can put you way behind. It’s not a good shortcut.

And then we come to one of my favorite texts in Proverbs, the ant vs. the sluggard. The ant is the epitome of discipline and diligence. It has no commander or ruler, and yet it works hard to gather and store its food during the harvest so that it will have plenty during the lean times. By contrast, the sluggard cannot bring himself to get out of bed. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest . . . and poverty will come on him like a bandit. The sluggard takes the shortcut of the fatalistic approach to life (eat, drink & be merry) and it turns out to be a bad choice.

Who wants to be the sluggard? No thanks. By the same token, who wants to be the ant? That’s just as daunting in a different sort of way. Would the ant ever take a shortcut? No. The ant is organized and efficient and has no need to take on the risks that a shortcut requires. So, be like the ant.

Finally, we come to Solomon’s warning against a huge shortcut, adultery. He warned his son about the temptations of the immoral woman and the wayward wife and said, “Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.” (verse 25) The result is that your life will be reduced to a loaf of bread! (v. 26) I think what he meant is that your life would be reduced to the value of a loaf of bread, a few dollars. This could happen literally (you could lose everything) or figuratively (you would feel like a loaf), or both.

So, while shortcuts to work and on your computer keyboard are a good thing, they are not so good almost everyplace else. You think that you are getting something for nothing. In reality, most shortcuts in life involve great risk and little reward. Bottom line, there are no shortcuts on the road to developing godly character. Let’s strive to take Solomon’s wisdom to heart, “For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light.” (v. 23).