Protection From Being Unhinged
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Krispy Krazy
Protection From Being Unhinged
Imagine this: you’re standing at the end of the checkout line at the Maple Grove Cub Foods, waiting for Jo, who had gone back for a new carton of eggs. While you’re minding your own business, you see an older man with a cart accidentally ram into a woman—square in the backside—just a few feet from where you’re standing.
The thud was undeniable. In my head I thought, “Oooo… that had to smart.”
But the man? He just kept rolling—no pause, no “sorry,” no acknowledgment whatsoever.
Well. That was all it took.
The woman tore into him, using language that will definitely not be repeated on this blog. She lit him up for a good five minutes, creating what can only be described as a full-blown checkout-lane spectacle.
And here’s the thing: I had empathy for her. Two little words—I’m sorry—would have cooled her from a rolling boil at 212 degrees down to a reasonable 98.6. But after those first few minutes of understandable frustration, she went far beyond reasonable. She kept going and going, verbally peeling the paint off that man’s soul.
Eventually she stormed out of the store, still fussing loudly the whole way.
I exhaled in relief.
Just then Jo reappeared with the eggs, and we headed toward the exit—unfortunately, the same exit she had used.
And there she was.
Standing at the door.
Muttering to herself.
Holding her phone up as if recording the doorway, apparently waiting to capture this man on video for some grand and irrational purpose.
I looked at Jo and said, “At some point… don’t you have to let go? This woman has come unhinged.”
We walked to our car, loaded our groceries, and glanced back toward the store. She was still there, peering through the doors like a sentry.
As if! That man was not going to walk through that door again.
So Jo and I went on our merry way.
Her initial anger? Understandable.
The next 15 minutes?
Uncomfortable for everyone in a ten-foot radius.
I don’t know what experiences led her to lose her emotional anchor that day, but she became irrational, unpredictable, and completely out of control.
And it struck me: this isn’t new. Human beings have been unraveling emotionally since ancient times.
King Nebuchadnezzar Learned This the Hard Way.
In the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar allowed pride to consume him. After boasting about his greatness, a divine judgment fell on him:
Daniel 4:33“That same hour the judgment was fulfilled, and Nebuchadnezzar was driven from human society. He ate grass like a cow… his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws.”
For seven years he lived in disordered, irrational behavior—until he finally acknowledged God’s sovereignty. Only then did his sanity return.
Control Returns When We Realize We Are Not in Control
Our ability to stay centered, calm, and emotionally stable is rooted in God’s control, not ours. The old church elders used to talk about being sober-minded, having peace, and living with a sound mind.
These qualities aren’t personality quirks—they’re spiritual resources.
2 Timothy 1:7“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (or self-control).”
Self-control, then, isn’t something we muster up alone. It’s something the Holy Spirit cultivates when we humble ourselves.
1 Peter 5:8“Be sober-minded; be watchful!”
This means guarding our emotions, resisting extremes, and staying clear-headed even when someone bumps us—literally or figuratively.
Next week, I’ll cover more about the spiritual resource of Self-Control and how it steadies us in a world full of checkout-lane collisions.
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