Philippians 2: Downward

Paul settles a quarrel between two people by describing a descent: equality with God, not grasped; the form of a servant; obedience as far as death.

Every step is downward, and only then does the text turn upward.

The argument is not that humility is a nice quality. It is that the shape of God turned out to be this, and that people arguing over precedence in a small church are standing next to something that makes the argument unnecessary.