"Fine!" Usually, when we hear this, it's either a mindless response to the question "How are you?" or a hostile retort in the middle of an argument. The latter, of course, means the person uttering it is not fine at all.
But "fine" was a word meant for so much more. Fine means "of high quality." When applied to a person, it means he or she is worthy of or elicits admiration. There's another whole area where fine is really good-- there's fine china, fine crystal, fine linen, fine wine. Fine silver is made of a high proportion of pure metal. Fine can also be French brandy of high quality made from distilled wine rather than from pulpy fruit residue.
When did "fine" get to be, well, not fine or something less than perfect? I'm not sure, but I wish we could bring back its real meaning. This morning in church, my mother sang with my father, my sister, and me. We sang "Amazing Grace." Mom flubbed an entrance, my sister missed a high note, I hung onto a note too long, and my dad may have been off-key in one spot. My mom and my sister were both disappointed, but I told them it was fine. What was it, really-- a couple of notes here and there in a song that went on for five pages? Our harmonies were really good, and the melody was strong. People enjoyed it. It was fine.
Sometimes we get so caught up in our performance that we forget to whom we are singing. If we're singing to the Lord, then we give it our best and let Him do the rest. We were fine-- high quality singing, sung for the Lord.
Let "fine" be inspiring to you. Don't let it be a throw-away word. Use it to give your praise to others. Go ahead, you can do it!
There, now. That's fine!
