White-Knuckle Way To Die
Entropy is a law.
Even if you aren't 100% certain what entropy is, some part of you knows the above to be true.
Now, entropy is only a law in physics. In life, it's a tendency (a remarkably strong one). Entropy is disorder, chaos, uncertainty, and randomness. Our best-laid plans fear it, and it's the reason for our abject paranoia. Because everything, even the best things in life, are going to break down. Happy Monday.
But, hey, you already knew this.
· Your home broke into chaos shortly after the toddler woke up. Entropy.
· The project at work keeps running into obstacles and roadblocks. Entropy.
· Your perfectly manicured lawn is always teetering on the edge of becoming an uncontrolled jungle. Entropy.
· That haircut you paid too much for looked great for days, weeks, or maybe even months. Until one morning your once perfect haircut is nothing short of tragic. Entropy.
· Your relationship with (insert name of your best friend here) is constantly breaking down, drifting, and becoming more complex under the weight of life, time, and circumstance. Entropy.
It's one of the things we know deep down in our bones, an ingrained part of life, and it's the one thing we war against the most.
But, entropy is a law.
Everything decomposes. But still, we fight to preserve all of the things we hold dear. We hold onto the world the way we knew it. We romanticize the past, and in the shadow of impending chaos and disorder, vilify the future. Before you know it the storm of entropy dashes you on the rocks. It's a white-knuckle way to die. Why?
Because entropy is a law. And we hate change.
Chaos and disorder aren't just facts of life, they are facts of the universe. The stuff galaxies are made of, and sustained by. Whether the Maker created the Cosmos in a handful of days or several billion years, chaos was, and is, a key part of the soup. That force that destroys life is one of the key ingredients in its creation.
What's the point of this weird science lesson? Entropy is a law. And maybe, just maybe, entropy isn't evil. Maybe destruction, disorder, and chaos aren't the enemy, but rather a tool that the Maker wove into the universe to bring life out of darkness, to push creation out of its rut and onward toward better. Perhaps the Maker is using that same force in your own life to move you out of the comfortable place you're stuck in and towards something better.
C.S. Lewis called it God's megaphone of pain, entropy. Diving headlong into the unknown is the driving narrative behind Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings, and the hobbit's adventure into the wilds. It's the main ingredient in every Hero's journey because it's a fact of life.
It's Monday, it's the start of a new week, and entropy is waiting. Chaos and disorder loom. The storm is coming, and you can ride the maelstrom to wherever that wind blows, or you can white knuckle your old life. You can try to hold on. But that, at least to me, sounds like an awfully sad way to live your life. It seems a terrible way to die.
I think this was part of what Jesus was getting at when he said:
"Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 10:39, NIV)
Moving forward means you have to leave some things behind. It means a life once known is lost. Jesus knew that, and he knew that the path forward would be hard for those who made the choice to go His way. But the rewards are something new, something better.
Chaos isn't the enemy. Disorder isn't evil. It's a force God allows because it's a force God uses.
Now, this isn't new news. It's simply a story we don't like to tell. A truth most uncomfortable. Jesus said it, and his followers repeated it. Check out the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Jesus follower in the city of Rome:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, NIV)
The good news for us is this: entropy is a law, and when our worlds crumble, perhaps they will crumble into better ones.