The Two Great Tests

Overview

Wisdom is so much more than just being good and moral and ethical. Wisdom has to do with knowing something about the way the world works so that you can make the right decision when you’re faced with multiple options that are morally permissible. This doesn’t necessarily happen with more education, or by being a world traveler, or by becoming more sophisticated. The secrets of wisdom are locked in your ordinary experiences if you know how to learn from them.

According to the book of Proverbs, there are two particularly common experiences, and when you’re in either of these two situations, you are in both a moment of great spiritual danger and a moment of great spiritual opportunity. These can be seen as tests, and if you pass the tests, you’ll become wiser about yourself, the world, and about human nature. If you fail, you’ll actually become more of a fool. We’re going to ask these three questions: 1) what are the tests, 2) why do they work, and 3) how we can pass.