Is anything truly useless? If so, what is it?

Leviticus 26:18-20“And if, in spite of all this, you still disobey me, I will punish you seven times over for your sins. I will break your proud spirit by making the skies as unyielding as iron and the earth as hard as bronze. All your work will be for nothing, for your land will yield no crops, and your trees will bear no fruit.”

Isaiah 27:10-11The fortified towns will be silent and empty, the houses abandoned, the streets overgrown with weeds. Calves will graze there, chewing on twigs and branches. The people are like the dead branches of a tree, broken off and used for kindling beneath the cooking pots. Israel is a foolish and stupid nation, for its people have turned away from God. Therefore, the one who made them will show them no pity or mercy.

Jeremiah 15:19This is how the Lord responds: “If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me. If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman. You must influence them; do not let them influence you!”

Zephaniah 1:17“Because you have sinned against the Lord, I will make you grope around like the blind. Your blood will be poured into the dust, and your bodies will lie rotting on the ground.”

Romans 3:12All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”

Sin has no legitimate purpose or use. It produces nothing of value or worth. Sin is always a liability, not an asset.

1 Samuel 12:21“Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless!”

Job 15:31“Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches, for emptiness will be their only reward.”

Proverbs 23:4Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit.

Isaiah 41:29“See, they are all foolish, worthless things. All your idols are as empty as the wind.”

Isaiah 46:7They carry it [their idol] around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there. It can’t even move! And when someone prays to it, there is no answer. It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.

Romans 1:23Instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

Worshiping anyone or anything other than God is totally unproductive and therefore useless.

Job 8:13-14“The same happens to all who forget God. The hopes of the godless evaporate. Their confidence hangs by a thread. They are leaning on a spider’s web.”

Psalm 78:8, 57Then they will not be like their ancestors—stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God. . . . They turned back and were as faithless as their parents. They were as undependable as a crooked bow.

Hosea 7:16“They look everywhere except to the Most High. They are as useless as a crooked bow. Their leaders will be killed by their enemies because of their insolence toward me. Then the people of Egypt will laugh at them.”

Disloyalty and unfaithfulness to God is useless, for it offers nothing except an empty future.

Psalm 127:1-2Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

Habakkuk 2:13“Has not the Lord of Heaven’s Armies promised that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes? They work so hard, but all in vain!”

John 5:19So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.”

James 1:11The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.

Endeavors without God are futile, like trying to carry water in buckets filled with holes.

1 Corinthians 13:3If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

Living without love is living an empty life, devoid of lasting value or purpose.

Matthew 3:9-10“Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”

Luke 3:8-9“Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”

James 2:17, 20So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. . . . How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

Faith with out works is a fruitless, empty faith; it is like a tree that is barren, without fruit or leaves.

2 Timothy 2:14Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them.

Titus 3:9-10Do not get involved in foolish discussions about spiritual pedigrees or in quarrels and fights about obedience to Jewish laws. These things are useless and a waste of time. If people are causing divisions among you, give a first and second warning. After that, have nothing more to do with them.

Foolish arguments are vain and empty, without any redeeming purpose.