Keep your senses, be watchful. Your adversary, the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone.”​—1 Pet. 5:1-8.

27. How can elders keep their senses and keep the Devil from devouring them and the flock?

²⁷ Is it any wonder, then, that the apostle Peter warned: “Keep your senses, be watchful. Your adversary, the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone”? If a Christian elder cultivates a proud, haughty spirit, he may open the way for the Devil to succeed in devouring him, and also members of the flock. So elders, seek to avoid even the appearance of being high-minded or superior. Gird yourselves with humility. Be approachable, kind, tender and compassionate, as when a nursing mother cherishes her own children. (Eph. 4:32; 1 Thess. 2:7, 8) Always look to the example and teachings of Jesus Christ, and do your best to imitate him.​—Phil. 2:5-8.