wallowing in the mire of my own self-sufficiency

i like verse 3 in proverbs 20: "it is honorable for a man to stop striving, since any fool can start a quarrel." lately, i've been thinking a lot about defeating meanness in people via love and not by being better at being mean. this verse talks about confronting hatred, but not on hatred's terms.

one verse i don't understand is verse 16: "take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger, and hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress." what does that mean?

verse 24, i may have a thought on; "a man's steps are of the lord; how then can a man understand his own way?" perhaps this is a comment to help us recognize that we aren't expected to know all the answers or reasoning for why things go the way they go. in fact, maybe we should expect to have even less of an idea of the direction our lives are taking when we have a relationship with God, because our faith in his judgment is all that we should have. proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, "trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths." this is quite a powerful statement. my job is a good example of this in my own life -- do i like my job or not? can i even fairly evaluate it since this is my first year at this sort of work? is this what i should expect for the rest of my career? am i really ready to make a career out of this or should i get into something else why i'm still young and low on the payscale? i have no idea about any of this stuff. i think what i need to do is focus on developing my relationship with christ. the bible says that when i acknowledge God, he will direct my paths. i should spend more time seeking christ and less time worrying about my schedule and my future.