Brother’s Keeper

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

Click here to listen to the 2-minute version of this article on the “Success is a Choice” podcast network.

Basketball was everything to me. It was my favorite sport. When I was in 7^th grade, I was riding the bus home after school. My brother, who was three years younger than me was acting up quite a bit on the bus that particular day.

He was pestering many of the kids around him, as well as talking back to the bus driver. Eventually, he would receive a pink slip and his bus-riding privileges would be temporarily suspended.

Obviously, I thought it was funny that my annoying little brother got in trouble. Humor would soon turn to frustration as my parents told me that I wouldn’t be allowed to play in any basketball games while my brother was suspended from the bus.

They told me that I was my brother’s keeper and could have kept him from getting in trouble. At the time, I  thought this was unfair. But, they actually were right in saying I could have stopped this.

My little brother looked up to me and I could have de-escalated the situation and influenced him positively. I wasn’t trying to do the right thing or make a positive impact, I was just laughing, being a kid myself, and hoping he got in trouble. In other words, I wasn’t helping the situation.

This is no different than us on a team, in a group, or as part of a family. If a teammate makes a poor choice, it can affect everyone. We have an obligation to remind each other of what the standards are, what the goals are, and what the appropriate behaviors are.

I wasn’t allowed to do something I loved because my brother got in trouble. But it’s not just about me. If I had stepped up, neither of us would have gotten in trouble. As iron sharpens iron. We sharpen each other. We accomplish more when we have each other’s backs.

We should always be trying to make our teammates … or our brothers … better. Like my parents said, I am my brother’s keeper.

 

Jamy Bechler is the author of four books including The Captain and The Bus Trip, host of the Success is a Choice Podcast, professional speaker, and trains organizations on creating championship cultures. He previously spent 20 years as a college basketball coach and administrator.  The Leadership Playbook is Bechler’s online program that helps athletes become better teammates and more positive leaders while strengthening a team’s culture. As a certified John Maxwell leadership coach, Bechler has worked with businesses and teams, including the NBA. Follow him on Twitter at @CoachBechler. To connect with him via email or find out about his services, please contact speaking@CoachBechler.com. You can also subscribe to his insights on success and leadership by clicking here.