Perhaps this verse is a word of caution to the counsellors referred to in Proverbs 11:14. For to give our counsel to help a friend to make his own wise decision is one thing; to commit ourselves and our families to the cause of one whom we may barely know, and whose circumstances and true responsibilities we may not know, is something else. We must lovingly give to others, but only what we truly can give without unnecessarily impoverishing others who are dependent upon us.
15 Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm, but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure.