Is All Pride Sinful?
Pride was the first great sin. Satan had been created a beautiful creature. After considering his own splendor and wisdom, he came to the conclusion that he knew more about running the universe than God did (see
). Satan's attitude was called pride. It was the beginning of sin in the universe. We are exhibiting pride in its worst aspect when we feel that we can do a better job of things than the Creator. In the Bible it resulted in the statement, "I will exalt myself."The sin of pride conveys a sense of inordinate self-esteem, arrogance, and haughtiness. One of the Hebrew root words translated "pride" or "proud" means to lift up or be high. We use the term high and mighty to describe a proud person. This attitude of heart is deeply wrong--thoroughly repulsive, in fact--before the Lord.
However, we also use the word pride to mean a sense of accomplishment or a desire to do well. For instance, you may be proud that your child makes a straight-A average in school. That does not mean you are trying to put yourself above somebody else; it means you are pleased with this achievement.
I think satisfaction in a completed job well done is proper, even though Jesus had a corrective for that attitude if it went too far. He said that when we have done all, we are to remember that we are "unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do" (
).Pride, as a sin, must be guarded against. The best way to eliminate pride is to look at yourself, your family, and your achievements as objectively as possible. However, knowing what you can do well is certainly not pride. For example, a world class runner would lie with false humility if he said, "I'm just an old slowpoke." He should say, rather, "God has given me the ability to run very fast, and I use it for His glory and praise Him for it." If somebody is a wonderful architect or artist, he should say, "I thank the Lord for the talent He has given me."
Many times, God will give me a teaching that I did not know before. I can sit back, look at it, and say, "Well, isn't that interesting? I have never heard that before, and the Lord just revealed it to me!" I admire it because it is something that God gave me. It should not be a source of pride to build me up, but a source of satisfaction to know that the Lord has done it. The danger comes if I think I am more exalted than others because God gave me something that others do not have.
You must make an honest appraisal of who you are. This is proper and glorifies the Lord. But when you begin to compare yourself to other people, you begin to get into trouble. "I can build a better house than he can. I am faster than he is. I am smarter than she is. We are richer than they are." That sort of thinking leads to pride that is unhealthy and sinful. The psalmist said, "In God we boast all day long" (
). We are proud of the Lord. I boast about Jesus because He is wonderful. That kind of pride is certainly all right.Excerpt taken from Answers to 200 of Life's Most Probing Questions, Copyright 1984 by Pat Robertson.
About The Author
Dr. Robertson served as the founder and chairman of The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. (CBN); co-founder, chancellor, and chief executive officer of Regent University; founder of Operation Blessing Relief and Development Corporation (OB); founder and president of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ); co-founder and chairman of International Family Entertainment, Inc.; and a leading force behind several other influential organizations and broadcast entities. His greatest treasure in life was knowing Jesus Christ and having the privilege of proclaiming Him and His power to others. His life was lived to the glory of God.
Early Life, Education, and Military Service
Pat Robertson was born on March 22, 1930, in Lexington, Virginia, to A. Willis Robertson and Gladys Churchill Robertson. His father served for 34 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
After graduating with honors from McCallie School, a military prep school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Mr. Robertson entered Washington and Lee University in 1946, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1948, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. After graduating magna cum laude from Washington and Lee in 1950, Robertson served as the assistant adjutant of the First Marine Division in Korea. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1952 upon his return to the United States. Mr. Robertson received a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1955 and his M.Div. from New York Theological Seminary in 1959.
For more information on the life and ministry of Pat Robertson, please visit: CBN.com/Pat .
In lieu of flowers, the Robertson family requests that anyone wishing to honor Pat can do so by visiting here (cbn.com/HonorPat) and supporting the organizations he loved dearly: CBN, Operation Blessing, and the Regent University Pat Robertson Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Family
In 1954, he married Adelia “Dede” Elmer Robertson. They were married 67 years before she predeceased him on April 19, 2022, at the age of 94. Together they had four children: Timothy Brian Robertson of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Elizabeth Robertson Robinson of Dallas, Texas; Gordon Perry Robertson of Chesapeake, Virginia; Ann Robertson LeBlanc of Portsmouth, Virginia; plus 14 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.
Religious Broadcasting
In 1959, Mr. Robertson moved his family to Tidewater, Virginia, with just $70 and a vision of establishing the first Christian television network in the United States. Although he didn’t even own a TV, he filed incorporation papers for The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., then raised funds to purchase a defunct UHF station. On October 1, 1961, CBN began broadcasting from WYAH-TV in Portsmouth, Virginia. At the time, its signal barely reached the city limits, recalled his son Gordon Robertson, CBN’s president and CEO.
The ministry’s scope grew exponentially over the decades, reaching viewers across America and around the globe through television broadcasts, cable, satellite, the internet, and other media. Today, CBN is one of the world’s largest evangelistic ministries, proclaiming the Good News in over 100 countries and dozens of languages, including Russian, Arabic, Spanish, French, and Chinese.
CBN’s flagship program grew out of a telethon in 1963, when Mr. Robertson asked a “club” of 700 viewers to give $10 a month. In 1966, The 700 Club program was created, airing each weekday with interviews, prayer and ministry. Today, it is one of the longest-running religious television programs in America. He hosted the daily program until October 1, 2021, the sixtieth anniversary of CBN’s first broadcast, when he announced that Gordon Robertson would be the show’s new full-time host. Over the years, Mr. Robertson’s co-hosts included Ben Kinchlow, Sheila Walsh, Gordon Robertson, Terry Meeuwsen, and Wendy Griffith.
Throughout its broadcast history, The 700 Club and CBN News have covered national and international events and issues, including key elections, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war on terror, Israel, and the Middle East. Guests have included former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Donald Trump; key congressional leaders from both parties; as well as a “Who’s Who” of world and national figures, journalists, professional athletes, celebrities, and pundits.
Regent University
In 1977, Mr. Robertson incorporated CBN University, and classes began in 1978. Later renamed Regent University, the school quickly became a leading academic center for Christian thought and action, and now has over 30,000 alumni. Today, thousands of students take classes on its Virginia Beach campus and online around the world.
With the mission of “Christian leadership to change the world,” Regent University offers associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in numerous disciplines and holds accreditations from bodies including the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. U.S. News & World Report has listed Regent among the top national universities four years in a row.
Distinguished faculty and lecturers have included John Ashcroft, former U.S. Attorney General; Vern Clark, former Chief of Naval Operations; Steve Forbes, president and CEO of Forbes, Inc.; Justice Samuel Alito, U.S. Supreme Court; and Michelle Bachmann, former U.S. Congresswoman.
Operation Blessing
Operation Blessing was established by Mr. Robertson in 1978 as a nonprofit organization with a mission “to demonstrate God’s love by alleviating human need and suffering in the United States and around the world.” Its programs focus on the primary goals of providing hunger relief, clean water, medical aid, and disaster assistance to help break the cycle of suffering for those in need.
Operation Blessing has provided relief aid in the aftermath of numerous disasters across America and around the globe, including the COVID-19 pandemic, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and fires. Since its founding, Operation Blessing has touched the lives of millions of people in America and around the world.
The American Center for Law and Justice
In 1990, Mr. Robertson founded the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a public interest law firm and education group that defends the First Amendment rights of people of faith. Focusing on pro-family, pro-liberty, and pro-life issues, the ACLJ has argued before the Supreme Court and won several high-profile religious freedom cases.
Author
A prolific and New York Times best-selling author, Mr. Robertson wrote 24 books, including The Secret Kingdom, Answers to 100 of Life’s Most Probing Questions, and The New World Order, which were each the number one religious book in America in the year of their respective publication.
His other books include the autobiographical works Shout It From the Housetops and I Have Walked With the Living God; along with My Prayer for You, Maximum Security, Beyond Reason: How Miracles Can Change Your Life, America’s Dates With Destiny, The Plan, The New Millennium, The Turning Tide, The End of the Age, Steps to Revival, Bring It On, The Ten Offenses, Courting Disaster, Miracles Can Be Yours Today, The Greatest Virtue, Right on the Money, Successful Families and Finances in the Secret Kingdom, The Power of the Holy Spirit in You, and The Shepherd King, which was released in May 2023.
Presidential Candidate
In 1986, Mr. Robertson announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for president of the United States on a conservative platform. While he enjoyed some success in the early primaries, he eventually placed third. At the 1988 Republican Convention, Mr. Robertson endorsed Vice President George H. W. Bush, who won the nomination and the presidency.
Organizations, Awards and Honors
Mr. Robertson was a past president of the Council on National Policy. In 1982, he served on President Ronald Reagan’s Task Force on Victims of Crime. He previously served on the Board of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and on the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors in the State of Virginia. Mr. Robertson founded and served as a president of the Christian Coalition of America until his resignation in 2001.
Over the years, numerous officials and groups have recognized Mr. Robertson’s achievements, including: Humanitarian of the Year in 1982 by the Food for the Hungry organization; Man of the Year in 1988 by Students for America; Christian Broadcaster of the Year in 1989 by the National Religious Broadcasters; one of America’s 100 Cultural Elite in 1992 by Newsweek magazine; the Cross of Nails award in 2000 for his vision, inspiration and humanitarian work with The Flying Hospital; and the Distinction in Ministry Award in 2009 from New York Theological Seminary.
In 2013, he received the Winston Churchill Lifetime Achievement Award, the first of its kind awarded by the Faith & Freedom Coalition in Washington, DC. And in 2017, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 25th Silver Anniversary Movieguide Awards in Hollywood, California, having served on the Board of Reference for their Christian Film & Television Commission since 2010.
In honor of his support for Israel, Mr. Robertson received the Defender of Israel Award in 1994 from the Christians’ Israel Public Action Campaign; the State of Israel Friendship Award in 2002 by the Chicago chapter of the Zionist Organization of America; and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Support of Israel in 2008 by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
