He who loves transgression loves strife; He who raises his door seeks destruction.
Proverbs 17:19

There are those in this world who love rebellion - whether against God or against "the man."  These people, because of this rebellious bent, also love strife.  Theiy love a good fight where they can quarrel with others and contend with anyone who holds an opinion other than theirs.  This kind of insolent, arrogant attitude brings such a one into multiple situations where they fight and where violence is almost certainly to break out eventually.  I remember a friend of my youth - who just loved to fight, whether it was with words or fists.  This happened weekend after weekend as he would drink and party.  One weekend he went too far and was shot a couple of times at a bar where he had previously picked another fight.  Fortunately for him he was not killed in the incident.  But this is what the proverb is trying to get us to see. 

The second part of the proverb here is a Hebraism.  It speaks of the one who "raises his door."  The habit of the Jews was to make the front door of their compound very low to the ground so that no one could get in without permission.  They also would intentionally not make their doors ornate - so as to draw attention to themselves - and unintentionally draw the attention of thieves or those who would seek to plunder their homes and compounds.  Over time this practice eventually came to speak of someone who was ostentatious and filled with pride.  Those to "raise their door" came to mean those who act with excessive pride and arrogance.  We are warned that doing this is dangerous and destructive.  When we live with such excessive pride and arrogance - even one that fights with everyone - and that loves sin - we are setting ourselves up for destruction.

The wise man is a peace-maker, not a fighter.  He is one who loves righteousness, peace, and humility.  True, these things will not make him stick out - won't make him noticed by the standards of men.  Yet, for the believer, this is not a good thing - to try to be noticed by men.  We want God to be the One who promotes and gives us favor with others.  The favor we crave and desire is not that of men (which often means we will have to love sinning as they do).  We crave with an ever-increasing intensity the favor of God!  And that kind of promotion does not draw the attention of men unduly - as does arrogant self-promotion does.

An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, But the righteous will escape from trouble. Proverbs 12:13

Be careful what you say . . . you may being laying a trap for yourself with your words.  That is the truth that today's proverb is trying to get us to understand.  The Hebrew phrase used here paints an interesting picture for us.  The original Hebrew reads, "In the transgression of the lips is an evil snare."  What is even more fascinating about this phrase is that the snare is actually a baited trap.  Of course we know that a trap is baited so that the animal that we desire to capture is lured to it.  The animal is captured when it focuses on the bait rather than the surroundings of that bait.  Some animals can even sense the danger of the trap, but ignore it because they become so fixated on the bait in it. 

What captures this fool is the fact that he does not watch what he is saying.  The transgression of his lips is his unwillingness to submit how he speaks to God and God's law.  The word here meant a rebellious act - here meaning the rebellious speech of this man's mouth.  His rebellion is against God and against God's warnings to be careful what he says.  This man ignores God's cautions to those who say too much - and who see no need to put a guard over their mouths.  The bait in their trap is actually their desire to have no one or no law govern what they can say.  The undeniable truth of life is that we can say whatever we want, whenever we want, to whomever we want . . . once.  The ability to repeat those words - or to be able to speak effectively again may be severely damaged by that absolute freedom to say what you want. 

Some may read this and protest that our founders fought for the freedom of speech.  I would agree with you wholeheartedly on that matter.  But our founders also knew that a wise man thinks before he speaks.  He thinks because although he has freedom to speak - it is wisdom that governs us in such a way that we can speak again and again without reprecussion.  We are told in the second half of this proverb that the righteous will escape from touble.  This word "trouble" means something that causes distress and anguish.  It refers to a situation of extreme discomfort and affliction.  When we say something truly stupid, we can find ourselves quickly in a situation where we are uncomfortable.  We all remember the times when a public figure said something they wished they had never said.  You could almost hear a collective gasp from those around as the statement was made.  The firestorm that ensued for the one who said it was predictable.  Some of these public statements resulted in someone losing their job before it was all over.  Did they have the freedom to speak - yes.  Did their misuse of that freedom cost them dearly - absolutely. 

The wise man will escape from these afflictions because of the wisdom with which he chooses his words.  He will know that there are times when he needs to speak - and other times when it would be wise for him to be quiet.  Because he has chosen to surrender his right to say anything he wants to the Lordship of Jesus Christ - he is resuced from many situations where his freedom of speech would create great difficulty for him.  Wisdom means knowing when to speak, how to speak, and often when to hold your peace.