How to tell if you're spiritually dead

The surprising test of your spiritual sharpness.

You don’t know how dull you are until you hold a sharper knife.

I have this weird habit.
Every time I go to a friend’s house, I grab one of their kitchen knives and test it.
It’s strange, I know. But if you love cooking like I do, you realize quickly: a sharp knife changes everything.
It makes cooking a joy, not a chore. It even makes it safer.

Here’s what’s fascinating.
Most of my friends have no idea how dull their knives are — until I show up.
When I bring over my sharpener and give their knives a quick tune-up, they’re shocked.
They cut a tomato, they slice through a carrot, and they say the same thing every time:
“I had no idea how bad it was.”

And that’s exactly what happens in the spiritual life too.

You don’t know how spiritually sharp — or spiritually dead — you are until you’re in the presence of something sharper.
Spiritual dullness doesn’t happen overnight.
It happens slowly, invisibly, with every compromise, every distracted day, every forgotten prayer.

You only realize you’re dull when you stand next to someone who is burning for God.
Someone whose hunger for Jesus, whose devotion, whose love — slices cleanly through the noise of this world.

This is why community matters.

This is why the Bible says, “Don’t give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.” (Hebrews 10:25)
You will never know how far you’ve drifted if you’re only measuring yourself against… yourself.

Who’s in your life today?
Do you have friends who are on fire?
Do you have anyone who makes you realize, “Wow, I’ve gotten dull without even noticing it”?

Find them.
Stick close to them.
And get sharp.

You were made for goodness,
Phil