Staying Sharp: Why Spiritual Dullness Is More Dangerous Than You Think

From Senior Pastor Daniel Macaluso's sermon "Staying Sharp" now on YouTube.

Senior Pastor Daniel Macaluso sharpening a pencil as an illustration in his sermon "Staying Sharp"

In Matthew 15:16, Jesus asks a painfully direct question: “Are you still so dull?”

It’s a rebuke we don’t often think about, but one we sometimes need to hear. The Greek word He uses—bareos—means lacking understanding, being unreceptive, sluggish. In other places, the word moros is used—yes, that’s where we get our word moron. It paints a picture: someone who’s lost their edge.

That phrase hits differently when you’ve ever used a dull knife in the kitchen. I once heard it said that a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one. Curious, I looked it up. Sure enough, America’s Test Kitchen explained that dull blades require more force to cut, which increases the chance of slipping and missing the mark.

Isn’t that exactly what happens spiritually when we grow dull? We miss the mark. We slip into sin.

Spiritual Sharpness Matters

To be spiritually sharp is to be alert, focused, on guard, prepared. And while we often think sharpness comes from personal devotion—Bible reading, prayer, humility before God—He makes it clear in Scripture that we need more than just personal time with Him.

We need each other.

The church—ekklesia—isn’t a building. It’s a group of people with a shared purpose. God created spiritual community because we were never meant to fight alone.

Real Relationships Make Us Sharper

Tom Brady once said that great relationships “divide the pain and double the pleasure.” That’s not just good life advice—it’s profoundly spiritual.

Jesus gave us a clear picture of what our relationships should look like in John 13:34-35:

“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

That’s not casual, feel-good love. That’s sacrificial, truth-filled, gritty love. That’s sharpening love.

Hebrews 10:23-25 calls us to be intentional:

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”

"Consider" means to think about intensely. We are commanded to care. Not just in theory—but in practice.

Two Ways to Stay Sharp Together

1. Spur One Another On: Think of spurring a horse—it’s not always comfortable, but it gets the horse moving. That’s what real friends do.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” – Proverbs 27:17

Sharpening can be uncomfortable, even painful at times. But it’s necessary.

I once told our young men that watching film after a game is how athletes grow. Spiritually, we are each other’s game film. We help each other see what we missed.

Whether we’re teens, in our 20s, married, parenting, or older—growth should never stop.

The question is: Do we want to be sharpened? And how do we want God to sharpen us? With a gentle hand or a grinder?

Sometimes when a brother or sister tries to sharpen us, we respond with:

• “I need to think about that.”

• “I need to process.”

But often, those phrases are really ways of saying, “I’d rather not deal with this right now.” Let’s not resist the sharpening God brings through others.

2. Encourage One Another: Encourage—paraklesis—means “a calling to one’s side,” “to urge,” “to comfort.”

Hebrews 3:13 says:

“Encourage one another daily… so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

Do you have daily encouragement in your life? Not just people who flatter you—but people who call you higher?

Without it, sin can harden us. Slowly. Quietly.

I once saw a pencil chewed to bits and thought—this is what sin does to us when we’re isolated. It leaves bite marks on our spirit.

But encouragement protects us. It revives us. It keeps us sharp.

Encouragement for the End

Remember the promise in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18:

“The Lord himself will come down from heaven… and we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

The return of Jesus is our hope. Our reason to stay sharp. Our call to not give up.

Let’s commit to being a church that’s not dull, but sharp. A people who spur one another on and encourage one another daily.

Because dullness is dangerous. But sharpness? That’s where we grow. That’s where we look like Jesus.

Watch Senior Pastor Daniel Macaluso's sermon "Staying Sharp" now on YouTube.