Article July 14, 2014 Issue

Goodbye 'can't-write-this' thinking

Michael Slater

Several years ago, in the very early stages of serving as a legislative attorney for the Vermont General Assembly, a legislator asked me to draft legislation that would regulate the deer herd. It involved a complex scenario that I understood conceptually but was having difficulty reducing to writing. I knew that if it became law, the language would eventually be the focus of litigation, and so it was essential that the legislative intent be very clear and unambiguous.

While I was struggling for a solution, the following question came to me: “Are you really a Christian Scientist?” I silently responded that I definitely was. Then followed a declaration that certainly grabbed my attention: “Then act like it!” What exactly did that mean?

Shortly, the story in the Bible of God directing Moses to go to Egypt to liberate the Israelites came to thought. The impostor of the divine Mind, referred to in the Bible as the carnal mind (see Romans 8:7), attempted to convince Moses that he was unfit for his assignment. Here’s what happened: “And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say” (Exodus 4:10–12).

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