OUTSIDE THE PULPIT: Controlling our behaviour

Once again, my friend and fellow worker in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, Canon Dr Geoffrey Mayers, sent me an email that I found to be very interesting and I have decided to share it with my readers this week. It deals with human behaviour.
“Through our international news networks we have learnt that it is possible to make a functional gun using your printer. Through your 3D printer you can make a plastic gun that works.
“This technology raises some concerns about how you can control human behaviour. Technology is good and it should be available to as many persons as possible to help them to live more efficient and productive lives. But with every privilege, there is a responsibility.
“Think how possible it is when persons adopt this technology and start to carry their guns on planes. Because it is made of plastic, metal detectors at the airport will not pick them up . . . What is of great anxiety is how [people] will determine their choices.
“We thought in the past that if we wanted to control behaviour, then we pass a law. We now know that it is easier to pass the law than to have it enforced . . . .
“Behaviour is not controlled by laws enforced from outside alone. We respond to our perception of the kind of relationship we share with self and the world.
“One of the keys to behavioural change is in our attempt to change the way we see our interconnectivity. Change our relationships, change our brains and we can change our lives.”