Saul did not know how to follow orders. Despite instructions from the prophet Samuel, he took booty and prisoners from the Amalekites, whom he had defeated. Today we would probably object to the severity and harshness of the order - to kill everything and everyone. The important thing to remember is that Saul let his own ego get in the way - he did things his way rather than God's way - and that is what led to his downfall. It leads to the downfall of many, even today!

New teaching and ways of understanding God requires new ways of thinking. We cannot receive the newness and freshness of the Gospel or understand it by means of worldly ways of thinking or older spiritual mindsets. The example of the wineskin is very clear - when we put new wine in an old, patched, wineskin, it will burst open and a lot of good wine will be wasted. A new vessel or wineskin is required - a new mind and heart formed by the Spirit of God. We need the trust and courage to let go of the past - even ways of thinking that may have guided us in the past might no longer be helpful. Cardinal Newman once said that to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed many times.