King isn't asking whether you're *capable* of helping others—he's insisting that self-examination itself becomes impossible without this question. Most of us frame life around personal achievement or happiness, treating generosity as a nice addition; he reverses the priority entirely, making service the lens through which we measure whether we're living at all. The persistence in his phrasing matters too: not "What *could* you do?" but "What *are* you doing?"—a present-tense accountability that won't let you defer with good intentions. When someone stays in a job that numbs them because it pays well, or avoids mentorship that would cost their time, this quote doesn't allow the comfort of calling that a neutral choice; it names the evasion.