Sacrifice is something most people never even consider, let alone complete. Let’s consider what it is to be a living sacrifice.

At the time of this writing by Paul, sacrifices were usually killed and laid upon an altar to be burned. The problem with “living sacrifices” is that they tend to crawl off the altar when it gets a little hot. We start with good intentions of making a sacrifice for our teammates, our family, or career, but when it gets uncomfortable we often snatch the sacrifice from the altar and lose the reward that comes from faithfulness.

Cut from the team. Knee blows out senior year. Lost the state title. Playing time disappears. Your mistake costs the team a win. As a competitor, all these things are considered tough trials. Add to that academic pressure or conflict at home and you can feel overwhelmed.

For Lorenzo Romar, integrity is one of the simplest concepts he’s ever learned—so simple, it only takes a brief, pondering pause followed by a concisely spoken sentence for him to explain.

“A person with integrity consistently does the right thing,” he matter-of-factly states.

As the University of Washington men’s basketball coach, Romar has provided a walking, talking example of integrity to the young athletes that don the Huskies’ uniform year in and year out.

When I was 8 years old, I did a lot of dreaming. My dad would take me to college lacrosse games, and I would stand by the field saying, “One day I want to play on that field!”

Athletes desire great things. This desire drives them to compete, pursue, and strive toward their ultimate goal for the season. I call this the “want” to achieve. The trouble comes in a team sport when the “wants” of different athletes don’t match. The goal of a coach is to get the entire team to “want” the same thing and strive toward that end.

Paul had quite a resume in life. He was a who’s who of people of his time, but his desire or “want” in life was much different than others of his day. All the accolades others aspired to, Paul did not want. He was focused on one area only: the desire to know Jesus Christ better each day.

In sports, the term “maxing out” is commonplace and usually refers to some type of physical activity. This could occur in the weight room, track, court, or anywhere else that an athletic event takes place. When maxing out, an athlete gives his best performance to show that his preparation has paid off. These preparations could include weight training, running sprints, agility drills, practicing sport skills, and so on. Only through proper preparation will an athlete be successful at maxing out.