A tribal chieftain commissioned the construction of a new throne. When it was finished, he wasn’t satisfied, so he commissioned another one. Meanwhile, he put the rejected throne in the attic of his grass hut. When the second throne arrived, he still wasn’t satisfied. He put it in the attic and commissioned another more elaborate one. Well, the third one arrived, and wouldn't you know it, he still wasn’t happy, so up to the attic it went.

Finally he sent for the best craftsmen from the surrounding villages, gave them explicit instructions and told them to take as long as they needed. After six long months, the craftsmen finally appeared with the masterpiece. The chief was elated and he ordered it placed right in the centre of his hut. As he got himself comfortable on the beautiful throne a big smile came across his face. The craftsmen were so relieved they had succeeded that everyone broke out in song and dance, creating quite a commotion.

Then, in the middle of the celebration, as the jubilant craftsmen got a bit carried away, some of the structural supports were jostled, the ceiling collapsed, and the three rejected thrones in the attic came tumbling down on the chief, killing him instantly. So, the moral of the story is simple: people who live in grass houses shouldn't stow thrones!

It’s the big event this month (at least, it is according to the media pundits). It’s the general election. We’ve had hour upon hour of in-depth analysis and manifest manifestos; we’ve had claim and counter claim about who will wreck the NHS and who will improve it, who we can trust and who can’t we trust; we’ve had people caricatured as though they were our Robin Hood or maybe even the Sheriff of Nottingham....

Sadly, despite the obvious enthusiasm of the media, there still seems to be an air of cynicism from us, the general public, about all things political. There is great enthusiasm to criticise or knock down but I rarely hear a positive word. It’s an attitude that unfortunately is modelled in our parliamentary system but I suggest comes out of what appears to be a national trait. It’s easy to join the crowd and become a stone thrower. I’m not suggesting that we keep silent about things we believe are wrong but surely it would be better to put more effort into affirming what we believe to be good and right rather than trying to discredit everyone and everything.

There is a well known saying: Let him that is without sin cast the first stone. It’s actually a paraphrase of a comment Jesus made to a mob who wanted to execute a woman who was behaving immorally and got found out. Jesus was pointing out how easy it was to find the faults in others whilst being blind to our own faults.

I think perhaps it’s something to remember as we decide who to support – and maybe even whether we are going to support anyone - on polling day. The FBC Centre is going to be a polling station so who knows, I might even bump into you and we can have a positive conversation. After all, I wouldn’t want any thrones to crash through the ceiling.

Every blessing
Graham Robinson