2 Samuel 21:2 NASB1995 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites, and the sons of Israel made a covenant with them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah).
We see in this text a mistake that Saul made while being the leader of the nation. It is a mistake made by many Christian leaders today. It happens when the leader takes the love God has given them for their flock and combines that with pride. God has placed me as pastor (undershepherd) of a church (flock). I am under the shepherd over the flock. In my placement He has given me great love for the flock. As long as I lead the flock in that love under the guidance of God the Shepherd, then things are fine. However, when in my pride and zealous love for the flock I ignore the leadership of God and get the idea my love is stronger than God's guidance there is trouble. The same thing happens in Christian families when the husband thinks he understands in his love what is best for the family instead of following God's guidance. It happens when a wife or mother says she loves the children more than anyone else and can make guidance decisions on her own.
We must be careful not to let pride mix in with our God given love for the flock He has placed us over. Saul thought that in his zealous love for Israel that he knew what was best and could ignore a covenant. He didn't check with God. Instead in his zeal mixed with his pride he led his people to sin. Let that be a warning to us. Not only did it harm Saul it hurt his family and the nation.
Zeal in love for the flock God has put us over is fine as long as we don't mix it with pride and put our flock in front of God!
Love Bro. Scott