Passage
He who loves disobedience loves strife. One who builds a high gate seeks destruction.
Proverbs 17:19 (WEB)
Nearby Context
Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:18 A man void of understanding strikes hands, and becomes collateral in the presence of his neighbor.
Proverbs 17:19 He who loves disobedience loves strife. One who builds a high gate seeks destruction.
Proverbs 17:20 One who has a perverse heart doesn’t find prosperity, and one who has a deceitful tongue falls into trouble.
Proverbs 17:21 He who becomes the father of a fool grieves. The father of a fool has no joy.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "loves", "disobedience", "strife", "builds", "high", "gate", and "seeks". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "loves" and "disobedience", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 18's "A man void of understanding strikes hands..." into verse 20's "One who has a perverse heart doesn...", so "loves" and "disobedience" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "loves" and "disobedience" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.