Remember learning about the experimental procedure in highschool? Me neither lol. But I googled it and here’s a basic breakdown. Every experiment consists of experimental trials (where you change something and observe the result) and controlled trials (where you dont change anything, you just observe the natural progression of things). It cannot be classified as a true experiment unless you do a controlled trial first. Why?  Without the results of a controlled trial, you have nothing to compare the results of your experimental trial to! They are meaningless!

Here’s an example. A few experimental trials were done on Mcdonalds hamburgers and, from the results, we know that they can be left out for many  years without decomposing. This is NOT normal food behavior. How do we know this isn’t normal? Because throughout history, food has decomposed in a matter of days. It’s an established fact. We’ve observed it over and over in controlled trials. Now, if I only go off of the experimental trial results, I might assume that a 10yr old tub of cottage cheese would be safe to eat. I would be wrong.

As humans we like to experiment. We want to twist nobs, push buttons, pull levers. We want to see if we can effect the outcome or see what the outcome will be. Nothing wrong with that! In fact it’s great, IF we aren’t using the results to make educated guesses. If you want results that will help you make real decisions, it’s probably best to lead with observation.  Observe to see whether action is necessary, then act honestly and accordingly. Acting first often produces meaningless results and, in turn, meaningless applications of those results. Remember, God is at work, even when we are not. And not only does he know the outcome or results,  he knows the best way to apply them.