What Should A Father Teach His Son? - [Proverbs 6]

Well, good morning. This is my once-a-year Sunday school class where I get to teach so thankful that we have many equipped men who can do this and so I don't have to do it that often and Why were there five times more people here when Steve was teaching than me?

What was up with that? All right today. We're going to be looking at a proverb. So if you have your Bibles, let's turn to Proverbs chapter 6. What do you teach your son if you're a father? Certainly if you're a mother or you're a daughter today there are good implications for you and in our society where we have all kinds of divorces and Family members who have died mothers need to know this as well, but this is a proverb specifically designed for fathers to teach their sons five things and Some of these are counterintuitive and that's why I like this passage is because I wouldn't think about teaching Luke some of these issues.

Oh a matter of fact, there you are. Good. Good to see you, buddy. Why don't we go ahead and pray and then let's get into this passage. Proverbs chapter 6. Father thank you for this word. Thank you for your wisdom that you've given To Solomon and then inscripturated in the text so we could have it thousands of years later so we might learn.

Thank you that the word is sufficient and inspired and that when we look at these words, it's not just Common opinion. It's not just a majority vote. It's not just a king's word, but it is your spirit's word.

These are words from you and help us to take heart to these words. By your grace live these things out pray especially for the dads today that they would learn and teach their children These special truths and for those who are moms or grandmas or grandpas.

You'd give them opportunity to teach these truths to those who are in their lives as well in Jesus name. Amen. All right. Well one whole chapter is pretty much going to be beyond me today. 35 verses. Considering my sermon this morning.

I'll do one verse Matthew 543 and so I'm already gonna just try to take a deep breath. Calm down. I have that desire to just teach all this. But I'm just gonna probably just relax a little bit and then later the summer when I need to fill in again for Dave I will maybe we'll get it all done, but I really doubt it.

Proverbs are about wisdom who can tell me the difference between wisdom and knowledge and why would it matter? Is it an important difference knowledge and wisdom? Yes, Charlie. Okay, so for the tapes Sake and for your sake knowledge.

It's data. It's just intellectual intake but Wisdom is that knowledge applied. Can you be a? Fool the opposite of somebody who's wise and be smart and be learned. You hear what Lewis said that universities are full of them and that's true.

I like Charles Spurgeon. He said wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great as a knowing fool.

But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom and that's what Solomon wants for his son. That's what you dad should want for your sons. That's what you mother should want for your sons and daughters.

That's what you grandparents should want for your grandkids and the list goes on and on we don't want to just know. We want to have that wisdom that comes from Acting out what we know. And certainly we would be wrong if we said if we just teach you a lot at this church.

You might become just puffed up in your head and and never could apply it. Well, I think we could struggle at our church with knowing too much and not doing enough. But what are we to do as leaders never teach you?

We have to teach you and then encourage you and have the Spirit of God have you live out what you know? By the way, if you go back to chapter 1 in Proverbs by my count, I find 23 times. Where Solomon says these two words?

My son and I'm just going to show you just a quick few to show you this recurring theme in the Proverbs. Chapter 1 verse 8 you see it there my son. Hear the instruction of your father. Verse 10 of the same chapter my son if sinners entice you.

Verse 15 my son. Chapter 2 verse 1 my son. He starts off chapter 3 the same way my son on and on and on 23 times in this book. The book of Proverbs. Do you see those words my son a father trying to teach his son?

Wisdom now I want you men to know and the church to know that. This is important to teach because sons don't learn this by osmosis. The church may teach it. The schools may teach it. Your Moms might teach it.

But this is given to the fathers to teach. Is it the responsibility of the father to teach the children? About knowledge about wisdom and about the Lord. Is it my responsibility as a pastor to teach your kids?

Well in a sense yes on Sunday, and when we gather together but it is your responsibility, and this is a good charge from God through Solomon to dads to teach their Children and the way this father teaches.

It's exciting when I try to teach my kids the Bible. I don't do everything perfect of course, but when I tell the kids all right. It's time for Bible time and you sit down. I can't believe it. Sit up wipe your face off.

You know blow your nose sit there, you're gonna listen to me and the Bible's great, and it's good for you and open wide. How do you think my kids respond when I teach that way? Well, they respond perfect.

They're my kids. I mean come on. No. When you're teaching kids you've got to be involved then you talk about Issues a little bit differently, and that's exactly what Solomon does. He talks about ears.

Hands and eyes. He talks about animals. You want to teach a kid a good Lesson. Go go find an animal and teach them about the animal and it is a wonderful Thing that Solomon uses vivid language. He uses all kinds of analogies from the animal kingdom, and he makes it interesting.

And it is fast paced and that is a good way to teach children with excitement with vivid Language and just outside in the normal walk of life. Five specific things in Proverbs 6 that Solomon teaches his sons.

So I could just apply it for you as well. Five things especially if you're a dad. But if you're a mom or grandma or someone else you certainly could learn these and teach them to those in your care or under your influence, but five Exhortations.

Five reminders on how to be wise in a foolish world. How to have applied knowledge in a world that runs around and doesn't have any idea what to do. Who acts the opposite of Wisely they act what? Foolishly for your kids.

I would if I were teaching my kids. I would say here's five things that I want to teach you. So that you aren't Stupid and that gets Simon looked right up on that one, too. It's okay to say stupid in a church.

All right question so far. I Don't think we're gonna get through them all but that's all right number one. You if you're a dad need to teach your sons. That if they're in a financial entanglement, they need to get out of it quickly.

What do you ever teach your kid that I didn't seem like it's it's something that I would do versus one through five. It's not just saying you need to avoid financial entanglements. But if you're in one you need to get out of it quickly.

Now, let's look at the passage. It's a little cultural, but I think we can come up with some good application for our church as well. Verse one my son if you have become surety for a Name for your neighbor if you become a guarantee of security for someone else's loan.

Or you have been given a pledge for a stranger not just somebody that you're is your neighbor that you know. But somebody that you don't have any idea who they are if you are bound With your finances to be a secure surety for them if you have been snared with the words of your mouth if you and your Naivete and your gullibility as a young person have have met somebody and all of a sudden before you know it.

You've co-signed the loan as it were. Well, what does he say to do if you've been caught with the words of your mouth? There's going to be trouble. Solomon's trying to tell his son if you act foolishly if you act unwisely as a young person.

You can have financial entanglements that will last your entire life. And he wants to make sure that when it comes to money that he's teaching his son, and here's a particular Israel kind of thing where they would Be generous, maybe maybe a Solomon's son has grown up to be a man.

Who is like Solomon generous and giving and we have Christians and and and here who teach their kids? We want to have have open hands with our money and teach that we should be giving and giving and all of a sudden our Son who's a little naive meet somebody who's a neighbor or a stranger or a swindler and before you know it.

He's co-signed his life away. And Solomon says dad's teach your sons that if that's the case if you're in a fine a financial entanglement. Because of your gullibility. Well, what should you do? Interesting advice look at verses 3 4.

Do this then my son and again? He's not saying don't get in the situation that would be good advice. But he's saying here in this proverb if you're in this situation. Here's what you do deliver yourself since you have come into the hand of your neighbor go humble yourself and Importune your neighbor.

Do not give sleep to your eyes nor slumber to your eyelids. If you have co-signed your life away to this neighbor or this stranger, and you are going to be bound To what they do the rest of your life.

Here's what you go. Do you go get yourself out of it by humbling yourself by groveling? By by letting them walk all over you and you beg to get out of it. That's what you do you need to get out of that right away.

Did you ever teach your son this? That's why it's kind of so counterintuitive. I want you to let them walk all over you where it says. They're I'll go humble yourself. Just go let yourself be humiliated.

I did the wrong thing. I said the wrong thing. Please what will it take for me to get out of this situation? Plead one commentator said by Obnoxious pleading and then he gives a couple similes so we can understand it.

What a great way to teach kids. Verse 5 deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter's hand. How does a gazelle get out of a hunter's hand? Well, it tries to get out with urgency and with excitement and with enthusiasm and struggle and exertion.

You don't just say well I Made a bad deal and I have to live with it. Well, there's ways to get out of bad deals. And now is the time he tells his son. Like an animal in a trap. I remember when I was a kid so vividly when I would learn that certain coyotes and wolves if their Leg was caught in a trap.

What would they do? They would bite off their own legs. I think of the man that was mountain climbing and his arm got stuck between the two large rocks and what did he do? Took his knife first eat first.

He tied the Tourniquet around him and then he cut off his own arm. So he's saying you're going to be bound in some kind of stupid foolish. Unwise financial entanglement that could cost you your whole life.

Get out of it. Beg plead. Deliver yourself. You see the other simile and like a bird from the hand of a fowler. Now we don't have these things too often today. So let's just talk about some general advice if you're a father teaching a son about financial entanglements.

What might you say what would be some good advice if you were a dad trying to teach your kids about money. Don't co-sign alone, right? If you would go co-sign you should be willing to cover that it should be yours.

Yes. Good. What else? Okay, and in Israel's day, they weren't allowed to charge interest to fellow Israelites and other things. And so if somebody has a need you could just serve them and not expect anything back.

That would be good. What else? What do you want to teach your kids about money? Credit cards, that's a very interesting one, isn't it? Very Hard lessons for people who aren't just children, right? It's a very difficult one with interest and owing people things.

Scott put money in the bank good. I know some parents where they will give their kids allowance and then there'll be a like a piggy bank kind of thing and then like a church bank and then kind of a. You know just a spending money thing so you want to give your kids chores to do give them allowance.

So they know here's for the church. Here's for savings good. What else? Mike. Okay, so you could teach your kids about investment wise investments good like the lottery friends now this could get me in trouble, but hyperbole is good sometimes.

I Would rather have my kids Take some dried Tobacco leaves roll them up light them on fire and suck in the smoke on occasion. Take some watered-down wine. Have some kind of tattoos. I don't want my kids to do any of those.

But the whole idea of the lottery. Friends you want to know how to take money from people you up you you you go after their greed and it's on Christian TV and It's at the lottery and the lottery is for people who are stupid.

They are foolish. They are unwise. By the way. You don't even want to win do you because Jay Vernon McGee used to say one of the ways God? Judges people is by letting them get a lot of money. Is that who needs God when you have a lot of money?

I don't want my kids to smoke or drink or get a bunch of tattoos. That's not my point but walking to Cumberland Farms. Getting like 19 packs of camel no filters and a bunch of bags of Fritos and then about $80 of scratchers and then they take the scratchers and they don't even want to get out of line.

I just still have my smart food and a diet coke that's all I have and and I want to pay and then they're scratching at the counter and Then they're trying to redeem them back in there there are things that we need to teach our sons and Mothers of course daughters and all kinds of other application.

But that is a foolish use of your money because our money is ultimately whose money it's the Lord's money and We we trick ourselves. I mean our heart is deceitful. And so we say Lord if we win I'll give a little bit more to the church.

I'll help your people. You know, the church needs a new building. We're outgrowing that building and Lord if you let me win this lotto scratcher I'll make sure we take care of it in this particular case.

This was a big deal in Proverbs 6 1 to 5 and Solomon wants to know by the way. There's a lot more involved here too because this son is going to inherit the Kings riches. And you get yourself caught up in some kind of financial entanglement entanglement get out of it as soon as you can.

But I think there's good advice that you can find all throughout the Proverbs that dads need to teach their sons. Because otherwise they are going to learn the hard way. They probably still learn some things the hard way.

But you want to try to minimize that to teach your kids all the money's the Lord Lords and that a love of money is what? Money is not the root of evil, but the love of it is. Questions about finances or what to teach kids or anything specific about this Bruce.

Isn't that amazing? 20 of the people plan to finance their retirement by winning the lottery. Not very good odds. I have four kids. I'm just hoping one marries rich, so I've got a 25 chance. It's a lot better than any other Lottery system.

I saw another hand back here. Yes. Well without getting into all the details there are some Christians who teach that you should never be in any kind of debt. Taking a few isolated verses from Christ.

I believe out of the entire Corpus context and so I think debt is fine. I think debt over your head. It wouldn't be good. And I think if you have a student loan if my kids want to get a student loan to go to school I don't think that's a bad thing.

I think it's bad to say I'll get a student loan and by the way when I'm older I'll just default and they won't come after me, and I'll just try to get out of it. I think that would be the wrong thing, but student loans as far as I'm concerned or a mortgage or other loans.

I Think that would be appropriate for the Christian. Yeah, I wish it wasn't the case, but schools are so expensive now. How else do you go to school in our particular family we are paying for a private Christian education?

Which means there's no college fund. I mean, there's a little one, but it's it's mainly going to be it's called the United States Marine Corps. So the money I have now I just think for our particular family and again We have some visitors and other folks here.

It's up to the family to choose public private or homeschool. But our family we are doing private Christian school, and that's where I'm spending the money now that I would normally invest for the college.

And so if you want to say that's a good investment. I think that's fine. There are some people who are so far in debt. I would say this as a practical application from this if you are so far in debt. Then would you go to your creditors and just beg to get out from some underneath some of the stuff and some of the things.

They will take off and maybe you can consolidate some of those things. And it's a good idea to get out from underneath some of those things. Without doing the bankruptcy route, but Solomon is concerned for his son that he understands money.

And so I think allowances are good. Why? Because the kids will have money, and they'll know what it costs. Kids don't know what things cost. Oh, I want to go to Six Flags. Well. That's nice, but it's $49 .95 to get in and it's now 15 bucks for parking.

That's I'm glad you want to go, and I want to go to you know Sri Lanka, too but there are things it's called money, and so we have Allowances at our house and when kids break things they have to earn those things back and when they lose things they have to earn those things back.

Don't they. They do they need to understand the value of money. Money is not a bad thing money's a good thing so any other questions about that. All right, well, let's go to the next one. Not just telling your son if you're in a foolish financial entanglement get out of it.

But number two found in verses 6 through 11 fathers teach your sons to work for what they have. Positively negatively to not be sinfully lazy. We're moving from one kind of self-inflicted Impoverishment foolish financial entanglements to another foolish Financial entanglement, and that's called being lazy now certainly ladies can be lazy, but you can see here the father teaching the son.

Right because of the effects of the fall the fall. Everything got messed up at the fall before the fall work till cultivate and all of a sudden after the fall. What was good labor without sweat and toil now becomes difficult and men and boys are those who are more prone to be lazy than girls.

My girls have other problems. But they're not as prone to be lazy as a boy would be and so here He's saying you need to make sure you aren't lazy because left to yourself. You will be dads and moms teach your sons.

Especially not to be lazy. Watch out for them to be lazy and get on them when they are and that's basically What Solomon says with some cool language here verse 6? Go to the ant oh sluggard. Observe her ways and be wise.

Which having no chief officer a ruler prepares her food in the summer gathers her provision in the harvest. So one of the things I want you to do is not just be a bird watcher. Matthew 6 it's good to watch birds.

Yes I used to think birds were kind of stupid and and Kim started putting up all the Seeds and all the suet and everything else and all of a sudden. I think look at that cool woodpecker look at that. All kinds of you know different we have this little book now and so you can see and so here I am some kind of bird watcher now looking at these birds, and and I think you know God takes care of those birds.

That's the lesson. Well there are ants to watch out for and these ants can teach lessons. I was on the internet. There are a hundred different ant species and this particular ant that was found in Palestine was a very industrious Worker be kind of ant and Solomon says son.

Here's an object lesson. I want you to study that ant. Now they say if you're a pastor you're never supposed to tell Stories out of school, but this one's a funny one, and he doesn't do it anymore. One day I found that Luke was at school.

And he was trying to show off his Avendroth bravado by eating ants at Twin City School. And so Luke had the right idea to observe the ants. But not observing as they would go like this into the mouth and chewing them up.

And they didn't even have chocolate on there. What do they taste like by the way? Pretty much every kid has done that and thanks to survivor and fear factor and all these other things eating these different kind of crazy things and I'm sure I don't help them that much.

We get weird foods at our house. And I want to teach the kids when we go to India or we go to Germany or wherever we go whatever you get served. You eat, so I try to get weird foods at home, and then I'll pay the kids each a dollar if they'll eat those foods.

Almost works every time. Okay back to the ant. He's not talking about eating ants. He's saying I want you to watch the ant. Matter of fact I learned this week that in German the word ant and industry are almost sounding the same.

He says I want you to look at the ant as a as a symbol other countries. Did other people do as a symbol of industry. We were at the party yesterday at gladman's graduation party? We began to talk about this proverb.

And I said you know to Dave Jeffries answer everywhere. And you can easily learn these lessons about ants. All you have to do is look down in the summer spring or fall. And you'll see an ant. So I look down and guess what I saw just walk right across the cement.

There's an ant right there, and you just watch and as I looked at the ant. He walked over to the side. And he put his feet up on that lawn chair and put his head back. And he began to just take a nap and sunbathing just kind of relaxing.

He had a little kind of a one of those little tropical fruit drinks there, and of course not. What do you always see ants doing? They're busy. They're working, and they don't have a queen bee leader. They are busy.

Industrious and so boys have a problem with the fall and it's called laziness, and he said here you watch this ant. Don't get hurt financially because of some stupid co-signing and also because of you're just lazy.

I Look at the encyclopedia online this week. There is ant inspired technology. The WPI guys are like this and gals. Quote the successful techniques used by ant colonies Has been widely studied especially in computer science and robotics to produce distributed and fault tolerant systems for solving problems.

This area of Biomimetics has led to studies of ant locomotion search engines Which may make use of foraging trails and fault tolerant storage and networking algorithms? See also Langdon's ant and ant colony optimization.

Computer programmers and others study ants because they are a good model of Working hard and being the opposite of a sluggard are someone who is lazy. Proverbs 30 25 it says the answer not a strong folk, but they prepare their food in the Summer.

They're working. They have no ruler, but they work for future needs. Solomon saying you want to be financially impoverished then be lazy. Great illustration, we don't have time to read. But I'll just read you one verse of a man who maybe watched ants, but who was certainly industrious.

Genesis 41 49 this Joseph stored up grain in great abundance. Like the sand of the sea until he stopped measuring it for it was beyond measure. Working for a rainy day. And he says in verse 9 of Proverbs 6 how long will you lie down.

Oh sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep. And Sluggard in the in the Proverbs is not just somebody who's kind of lazy. A sluggard is contrasted with someone who is righteous. So sluggards are unrighteous.

Sluggards are Contrasted with those who are upright. So sluggards are not just unrighteous, but they are not upright. Proverbs 26 about the sluggard he says there's a lion in the road a lion in the open square.

As The door turns on its hinges so does the sluggard on his bed? Better not go outside and work. I think there's a lion prowling around. He might get us there stay inside. Proverbs 26 it says the sluggard buries his hand in the dish.

He is weary of bringing it into his mouth again. The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can give a discreet answer. For those of you have not read Pilgrim's Progress. There's a man Whose name is what synonym for sluggard for lazy?

Christian comes upon this person. Sloth I mean aren't sloth the animal perfectly named. Just sloth, I mean it's just this onomatopoetic you just want to sloth it out. Christian comes upon Simple sloth and presumption and and he's talking to them and they're discussing Satan and his teeth and he's roaring like a lion.

And so what do simple sloth and presumption do when there's first Peter 5 8 danger ahead. John Bunyan said. With that the discussion of Satan they looked upon Christian and began to reply in this sort.

Simple said I see no danger. Sloth said yet a little more sleep and Presumption said every tub must stand on its own bottom. So they lay down to sleep again and Christian went on his way verse 9. Some be motivation behind the scenes here.

So you're not poor. Verse 9. How long will you lie down. Oh sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? The language is almost it's it's been quite a while that you've been sleeping and harvest time is here and has been here and you're Still taking a nap and the snooze button is going on and on and on it's time to wake up.

How long is this going to happen? You're going to be poor and look at the three littles. Three littles add up to a lot of Poverty. A little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to rest.

I woke up one of our kids today, and that's how I use that verse to wake him up. Three little things one man said add up to big trouble of poverty. Commentator cop tech said the young man is told not to take responsibility for someone else's finances one to five and To make sure that he never needs others to take responsibility for him like because of he's lazy and It is a sure thing for those of us who are able and especially the men.

It says in second Thessalonians that you are to what? To work, you know, you can be church disciplined if you don't work. Say well, I can't get a job in my field. Well, then get any job. I have been on the top of corporate.

Well, it's not at the top of corporate America, but high up. Enough high up where I thought I was successful and then Downsized laid off. What are some of the other code words they use to make you psychologically feel better?

Booted out on the street or I don't know what they say. I'll never forget that day I walk in and I get laid off and he said well, you know what? We'll need your car keys right now car keys. I'm at LAX.

I'm 60 miles from home. We'll need your car keys now and Here's all the stuff we need and and we need to shirt. Your church credit card, but the the credit card for the company and by the way We have a psychologist in the other room to talk with you if you need some help.

Help all's I need are imprecatory Psalms. That's all I need. It's time to work. And so what I do. Show me a guy that sits at home all day long who is able to work and things aren't right. So I went and got a job at Grace Church as a janitor for $8 an hour.

It was the best job I ever had. Sales job. Quota sleeping wake up in the middle of the night and can't rest and I got to close that deal and where somebody else comes in Ministry things happen with people and issues but janitor job you do the cleaning and you go home and shut the door.

Feel good men are meant to work. And if you don't work and you're able to and your life is falling off the hinges. Well, that is God's goodness to you and kindness to you. So you'll go, huh? My life's going great.

I don't have to think about anything. No you go my life. I'm hurting mentally physically. I'm hurting well look backwards and get a job. Say well, I can't get a job at Walmart. That's below me. Friends, there's another issue that I want to teach you and that is no work is below you.

Work, I'll never forget what Steve Lawson said when he's here doing Sunday school Sunday school two months ago. Psalm 112. He said let me give you a little advice kind of man-to-man kind of thing he said what show up on time and do what you're told with the good attitude and you'll be Surprised how far the Lord will take you because people don't show up on time and they don't do what they're told and they don't have a good attitude about it even around the house on the days.

That they used to have all the the bowl games the football bowl games in college on January 1st. Remember there was about six ball games. And you get up in the morning and you watch them all day long by the end of the day by the end of the Orange bowl that was the last game Rose Bowl.

I Felt horrible why I didn't do anything except freedom myself to death and My mom died two years ago today, and she loved Fritos. And I think just today even though I'm kind of on a diet she loved diet coke and she loved Fritos today I'm gonna have myself a Super-big family gulp diet coke and a big old bag of Fritos.

But you feel bad if you get a to-do list around the house, or you've got something going on and you get a lot done. How do you feel? Feel good. We're to work. Say well, you know I'm retired well. That's nice.

You've got more time to do more work. It doesn't have to be clocking in but we are meant to do things. You show me a guy who retires and doesn't do something. I'll show you a guy who is going to die soon.

We are to work and For us who are older we can work for the Lord and have time to do things for him. Just listen to Paul's language. I don't want you to turn there, but just listen to how important work is for the Christian now.

We command you brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life. What do you mean by unruly? You're gonna find out it's gonna mean they don't work and not according to the tradition.

Which you receive from us for you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example they worked. Because we did not act in an undisciplined manner those who don't work. They're undisciplined nor do we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working.

He's not talking about the gospel. He could have gotten his money free from the gospel. Yes, but as an example he worked not because we have a right to do this. But in order to offer ourselves as a model for you so that you would follow our example.

For even when we were with you we used to give you this order. I mean just listen that language. If anyone's not willing to work then he's not to eat either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.

Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ. To work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. But as for you brethren do not grow weary of doing good for those of you who work keep it up.

You're doing good. Anyone does not obey the instruction in this letter. Including work take special note of that person and do not associate with him so that he will be put to shame. He gets shamed then he repents and then he's back into fellowship.

Verse 11 look at what happens when we don't work men verse 11 and your poverty will come in like a vagabond. Like an armed man like an assailant and your need like an armed man. Number three the third thing we need to tell our kids men, especially telling the boys, but certainly mom can teach their daughters.

Mom can teach their sons. Bert verses 12 to 15. You must not be worthless or devious sons. You shouldn't act this way. Let's find out what he means by that found in verses 12 to 15 this weird mischievous mischief maker.

By the way before I go on any other questions about work verse 12 a worthless person literally a man of Belial someone who is Without profit they're worthless later. Paul uses the the man of Belial in 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 as a name for Satan because who is the most worthless entity in the entire universe.