Speak Out

According to Britannica, the “bystander effect” is the inhibiting influence of the presence of others on a person’s willingness to help someone in need. In other words, the bystander effect is when an individual is less likely to help when others are around.

Whether you are a first year official or a long-standing veteran, we’ve all been in situations where we wished someone, including you and me, would have stepped up to help the crew fix a clock error, penalty enforcement mistake, or any other issue. What does it take to step up? First let’s look at two quotes to get our minds around getting past the “bystander effect”:

 

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”—Benjamin Franklin

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.” – Plato

 

Be it on the field, at work, or at home, there can be various reasons we choose not to help even though we think, or know, we should.

·        We assume a more veteran official or senior co-worker will say something.

·        Fear that others will think we are out of line to speak up.

·        If wrong, we worry about what others will think.

 

Regardless of the reason, it’s easy in hindsight to see if someone had just stepped up to ask a question or bring forward new information, unnecessary errors on the field, conflicts with family, or headaches with a project could have been prevented. Even more frustrating is when we are back in the locker room, or after it’s too late to make changes, someone decides to tell the group they thought something was wrong? We know there are times to speak up and times to be silent.

 

What is needed to break the bystander effect? Discernment…discernment to know the difference between having something to say and having to say something.

 

And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you can approve the things that are superior and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ. (Philippians 1:9-10)

Paul was speaking to the church of Phillipi to continue to grow in love for God thru knowledge and discernment.  Specifically, discernment helps us see beyond the surface; it helps us avoid being deceived and harmful situations. Discernment strengthens our ability to become gatekeepers—knowing what to let in and knowing when to speak out.

Spend an ounce of prevention to bring a pound of cure.

Devotion from Ryan Wingers (ACC Football Official)