Faith: Entropy pervasive, but not everything runs down

Entropy.

What pops into your head when you hear that word?

Well, just to prove that I listened some in a science class 4-plus years ago, here ya go: “The tendency of a body in motion to remain in motion and a body at rest to remain at rest.”

Impressive, right?

Not so much. Because, I’m now reminded, that is the definition of “inertia,” not “entropy.”

OK. Let me think. “Entropy” is “a wasting away or progressive decline due to disuse or disease — for example, a muscle due to neurological disease or trauma.”

Nope. That’s “atrophy.”

So I should look it up?

Yes, I should, and, overcoming inertia on my couch, I did, and it, like life, is much, much, much more complicated than one might think. Just read a little of even the Wikipedia article, and you’ll find that the concept is integral to classical thermodynamics, statistical physics, information theory, chemistry, etc.

But then I looked the word up in my favorite online dictionary. Yep, thermodynamics is there. But jump on down to definition 2b: “a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder.” Bingo!

Inertia may keep me on the couch, but entropy just might be behind my inertia. Yes, and I suppose all of this could be connected to mental atrophy.

Stuff, as a rule, just runs down. “Downer” examples are depressingly easy to find.

I drive past what was once a beautiful lawn, one the previous owner was justly proud of. New owner. Grass is already history. A car or two parked on what was the yard.

Even really nice hotels have a shelf life. Without a lot of continual work and many dollars, what-a-great-place quickly becomes what-a-dive.

Didn’t we just have the house painted? Rats! It’s already peeling and begging for more paint.

Most cool cars don’t stay cool; they start to creak and rattle. Like their owners.

Didn’t I just drop 10 pounds about 10 minutes ago? So why am I now up 15?

Once-respected media outlets degenerate into National Enquirer wannabes.

Joe Cool thought the tattoo on his chest looked, well, cool. I wonder if he likes it now that it’s a lot nearer to his stomach?

Great tans turn into not so great skin damage and wrinkles.

Cosmetic work can put off the inevitable, but when raising a left eyebrow causes a right pinkie toe to wiggle, that’s entropy, not progress.

And can I still list “gray” as my hair color or has entropy robbed me of even that?

Entropy. Harsh reality. So much around us seems to be running down.

But, amazingly enough, some things don’t have to.

My attitude might actually get better. Long shot, but it’s possible.

I might even lose a little weight but, better, I might lose a chip off my shoulder.

I might pray for, and find, God’s help to heal a relationship.

With the Lord’s help, my spirit might actually grow faster than my waistline.

Yes, a person’s hair might be turning white or loose, but maybe some wisdom is accruing in his cranium.

Maybe her heart is becoming younger and more vibrant. Maybe laughter is making laugh lines much more than worth their downside.

Entropy may be as pervasive as the law of gravity, but even if our backs hurt worse with time, our souls can learn to dance longer, better, and with more joy.

Real joy never runs out, never runs down.

Curtis Shelburne writes about faith for The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact him at

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