Iron Sharpens Iron: The Power of Godly and Professional Accountability in Cybersecurity

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

When Solomon wrote these words, he wasn’t just offering poetic wisdom—he was painting a picture of what real growth and refinement look like. In the ancient world, tools were sharpened by striking iron against iron. It took contact, friction, and intentional pressure to bring out a sharper edge.

As I reflect on this verse through the lens of faith and cybersecurity, I can’t help but notice the striking parallels.

In the Cyber World: Growth Requires Collaboration and Challenge

In a Security Operations Center (SOC), no one thrives alone. Threats are evolving too fast. Attack surfaces are too vast. And adversaries don’t sleep.

The best security teams are built on constant collaboration and cross-functional refinement. A junior analyst notices a weird log in Splunk. A detection engineer builds a new correlation rule. An incident responder walks through containment protocols. Each team member brings their skills, perspectives, and experiences to the table—and through discussion, feedback, and even disagreement—they sharpen one another.

You grow when you’re challenged. You mature when you’re corrected. You become more effective when you’re part of a team that holds each other to a standard of excellence.

That’s iron sharpening iron.

In the Kingdom: You Were Never Meant to Walk Alone

Spiritually, we face a similar dynamic. Just like no one person can defend an entire network on their own, no Christian is meant to walk their journey of faith in isolation.

When we surround ourselves with other believers who speak truth in love, who challenge our thinking, who pray with us and for us—we are being sharpened. And sharpening isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it stings. But it’s necessary.

The Apostle Paul constantly modeled this. In his letters, you see a pattern of encouragement, correction, instruction, and deep partnership. Timothy wasn’t just a mentee—he was iron being sharpened for Kingdom purpose.

Where Faith and Cybersecurity Meet

I’ve been in cybersecurity for over 20 years, and I’ve been a Christian even longer. And what I’ve seen in both arenas is this: your growth is tied to your relationships.

If you’re the most experienced person in every room you walk into, you’re probably not sharpening—you might just be rusting.

In cybersecurity, we need peers who ask the hard questions:

• Did we test that control thoroughly?

• Is our detection logic too noisy to be actionable?

• Are we thinking like the adversary or just checking boxes?

In our faith, we need brothers and sisters who ask:

• Are you still carving out time for prayer?

• How’s your heart, not just your hustle?

• Are you leading your family well—not just your team?

We need people who help us see what we’ve overlooked, strengthen what’s become dull, and challenge what’s grown complacent.

So, Who’s Sharpening You?

Take a moment to reflect:

🛡️ Do you have a “cyber tribe” that’s pushing you to grow professionally and ethically?

✝️ Do you have spiritual accountability—a mentor, a prayer partner, a brother or sister in Christ who lovingly speaks into your life?

And just as importantly:

🛠️ Are you sharpening others? Are you investing your time and experience to build someone else up?

The Call to Sharpen

Whether you lead a SOC, mentor rising cybersecurity talent, serve in ministry, or just want to walk in purpose—you were made for community. And you were made to be better because of it.

So today, lean into the hard conversations. Welcome the feedback. Ask for help. Give it too.

Let’s build teams and churches that reflect the heart of Proverbs 27:17—where iron sharpens iron, and everyone becomes more effective, more faithful, and more prepared for the battle ahead.

Stay sharp—spiritually and professionally.

🛡️✝️

– The Cyber Deacon