“Keeping an eye, not in personal interest upon just your own matters, but also in personal interest upon those of the others.”​—PHILIPPIANS 2:4.

Thus, he urged fellow Christians to be ‘keeping an eye, not in personal interest upon just their own matters, but also in personal interest upon those of the others.’ (Philippians 2:4)

Though he was a mighty spirit creature, he “came to be in the likeness of men” and humbled himself to the point of death on a torture stake for sinful humans of every race and nation. (Philippians 2:1-11)

Keep this mental attitude in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he was existing in God’s form, . . . emptied himself and took a slave’s form.”—Phil. 2:2-7.

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Where there is a yielding spirit, the marriage will bend to adjust rather than snap.​—Philippians 2:1-4; 4:5, Kingdom Interlinear.

Thus, he could counsel fellow believers to ‘consider that the others are superior.’​—Philippians 2:1-4.

“Keeping an eye, not in personal interest upon just your own matters, but also in personal interest upon those of the others.”​—PHILIPPIANS 2:4.

Appropriately, then, Philippians 2:4 urges us to be “keeping an eye, not in personal interest upon just [our] own matters, but also in personal interest upon those of the others.”

18. (a) What can we learn from Paul’s counsel at Philippians 2:2-4? (b) How is it possible that “others are superior to you”?

¹⁸ He expressed this even more forcefully to the Philippians, saying: “Make my joy full in that you are of the same mind and have the same love, . . . doing nothing out of contentiousness or out of egotism, but with lowliness of mind considering that the others are superior to you, keeping an eye, not in personal interest upon just your own matters, but also in personal interest upon those of the others.” (Phil. 2:2-4)

Most fittingly, at Philippians 2:3-8, the apostle Paul counsels Christians to have “lowliness of mind,” citing Jesus Christ as an example: “Keep this mental attitude in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he was existing in God’s form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God.