Is it possible to build a hedge around yourself?  Thus, you will be protected in all areas such as: finances, health-wise, in relationships or spiritual.  Can you do it by yourself or does it require help from others?  Do you see the world as being full of wickedness and evil or do you see very little evil?  Maybe how you see the world will depend on your need for protection?  One’s prospective matters!  How you were raised, what you believe and what moral principles you have established could determine how you perceive the world.  I have friends who see the world from completely opposite views.

My view has been established from being a store manager in four stores and in management in five other stores in the states of Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho and Nevada.  I have dealt with hundreds of unhappy, angry customers who seemed to be looking for a fight before I had a chance to determine what their complaint was.  In 99% of the situations, once the problem was explained we were happy to make it right. There was absolutely no need for the customer to be emotionally out of control.  Do you suppose they believed the world was out to take advantage of them?  Therefore, I assume how we see the world will depend on how we react to certain situations.

I have worked with thousands of employees and have seen a number who seemed unhappy to have had to get out of bed and come to work.  I see the world as wicked and evil.  However, I cannot let it affect who I am or how I live.  Deuteronomy 6:4 – 9 – “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

When I accepted Christ as my forgiver and Savior I had a passion to live the life I felt God wanted me to live.  To live a holy and righteous life was the opposite of how I was living.  It did not take me long to realize I could not do it on my own.  I read that I was to love unconditionally.   That was foreign to me.  If you wanted my love, I expected something in return.  Scripture shared that I must be accountable, responsible and committed.  I was not committed to anyone, responsible to no one or held myself accountable to anyone other than me.  For me to have any chance of pleasing God I desperately needed help.    I then realized that God knew I could not do it on my own and that was why He had given me the Holy Spirit, to help me live in a world where it was like living in a jungle.  Only the fittest survived!

I learned that the more I could love God the more I could trust Him and accept His promises.  I then discovered the importance of developing a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Scripture told me I was to have the mind of Christ.  Can you do that without truly knowing and understanding Him?  I became aware that God had a purpose and a plan for my life.  He also wanted me to be healthy, prosperous, develop lasting relationships with others and to mature spiritually.  The more I read and studied God’s Word the more my habits and my actions changed.  Instead of being a criticizer I became an encourager.  Rather than thinking negative thoughts they began to become positive.  Instead of limiting my potential I believed I could do anything God said or asked me to do.  The more knowledgeable I became of the Bible the more I wanted to live to please God.   To please Him I had to become more accountable to Him, Christ and the Holy Spirit.

My view of the world has not changed.  How I live in the world and the protection I have from the world comes from following the commands of God as told by Christ.  He has met my needs, fulfilled all His promises and has blessed me beyond my wildest expectations.  To answer the questions: “How do you protect yourself from the world?”  The answer I found is following the manual God has written for us to live by.

You say you don’t have time to pray, to read and study the Bible?  Then I guess you will have to find a way to protect yourself from the ways of the world on your own.    Good luck!