life cycle of the stars

I was thinking about the life cycle of stars. I am wondering what besides knowledge could be gained from knowing how long a star has before it burns out, explodes, or implodes. I mean it is cool and all about how the heavier elements are formed in the center of the star and that it seems that the pressure from the heat needs to balance out the pressure from gravity in order for the star to not explode or implode. But what are we to do with that knowledge?