Yet a closer look tells us that the true state of affairs is not so dreary. The less well-known principle of Le Chatelier and Braun limits the Second Law. It says that when natural processes go to greater disorder, they at least summon up resistance to their own completion. Instead of racing to completion, burning opposes its own action. Rust likewise tends to cover metals with protective coatings that slow the process of rusting.
Spontaneous processes degrade things, but nature always invokes processes that retard degradation.
Nature protects us. It slows and inhibits the inevitable. It grants us time. You've probably heard Shakespeare's invocation of the Second Law in his play Cymbeline, Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney sweepers come to dust. But remember that our coming to dust is muted by the Le Chatelier-Braun principle.