--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If someone comes to you and asks for…" description: "\"If someone comes to you and asks for help, and you can help them, you're supposed to help them. Why wouldn't you? You have been put in the position som..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/gil-scott-heron-9568_able_if-someone-comes-to-you-and-asks-for-hel_1629061.jpg" --- # If someone comes to you and asks for help, and you can… ![“If someone comes to you and asks for help, and you can help them, you're supposed to help them. Why wouldn't you? You have been put in the position somehow to be able to help this person.” quote by Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/gil-scott-heron-9568_able_if-someone-comes-to-you-and-asks-for-hel_1629061.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/gil-scott-heron-9568_able_if-someone-comes-to-you-and-asks-for-hel_1629061.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af4/gil-scott-heron-9568_able_if-someone-comes-to-you-and-asks-for-hel_1629061.jpg) > “If someone comes to you and asks for help, and you can help them, you're supposed to help them. Why wouldn't you? You have been put in the position somehow to be able to help this person.” [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When someone needs help and you can assist, moral duty compels you to act. **In simple terms:** Help those who ask when you can. Key Takeaway Offer help when able. Themes responsibility compassion community Mood thoughtful empathetic Type advice ethical When to use this quote - volunteering - peer support - emergency response Key Concepts ethics social contract altruism Questions to Reflect On - When should you set boundaries on helping? - How do you assess if help is truly beneficial? A Different Perspective Sometimes help may enable dependency or be misused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) [Asks Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks-help-466374/) [Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help/) [Help Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-person-426760/) [Help Supposed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-supposed-466376/) [Help Wouldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-wouldn-466378/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Supposed Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supposed-help-466380/) ## Related quotes > [Is it important to have a crew behind me? No, it's important to have me behind them. That's how I look at it. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/french-montana/is-it-important-to-have-a-crew-behind-me-no-it-s-important-to-have-me/) [French Montana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/french-montana/) > [“I TRUST THAT GOD WILL HELP ME, BECAUSE WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO LOOKS VERY HARD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-trust-that-god-will-help-me-because-what-i-m-supposed-to-do-looks/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [And then, because she was Tatiana and because she couldn’t help herself, and because he wouldn’t have it any other way, she ran to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paullina-simons/and-then-because-she-was-tatiana-and-because-she-couldn-t-help/) [Paullina Simons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paullina-simons/) > [I don't think any of us have the answers to everything. There's no human being on earth who fits that category. So why wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-don-t-think-any-of-us-have-the-answers-to-everything-there-s-no/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [“She hadn't met Earth or Fire, the other two cousins, but she'd filled a couple of library requests for each of them in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bishop/she-hadn-t-met-earth-or-fire-the-other-two-cousins-but-she-d-filled-a/) [Anne Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bishop/) > [“If more folk would help each other out, we wouldn’t need to get the law involved on everything,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-stimpson/if-more-folk-would-help-each-other-out-we-wouldn-t-need-to-get-the/) [Michelle Stimpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-stimpson/) > [When I was a kid and I'd be in trouble. I'd ask God to help me, and then once the fire was out, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/when-i-was-a-kid-and-i-d-be-in-trouble-i-d-ask-god-to-help-me-and/) [Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/) > [I don't think the government is out to get me or help someone else get me but it wouldn't surprise me if they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-don-t-think-the-government-is-out-to-get-me-or-help-someone-else/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [“Because there is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect you, Eleanor. Nothing I wouldn’t do to help you. And nothing I wouldn’t do to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/because-there-is-nothing-i-wouldn-t-do-to-protect-you-eleanor-nothing/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) > [The healthy and strong individual is the one who asks for help when he needs it. Whether he's got an abscess on his knee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rona-barrett/the-healthy-and-strong-individual-is-the-one-who-asks-for-help-when/) [Rona Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rona-barrett/) > [When a dad admits he is wrong or asks for help, he allows the child to see him- or herself as adequate even when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/when-a-dad-admits-he-is-wrong-or-asks-for-help-he-allows-the-child-to/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [“When a stuffed bear asks you for help, you can … ignore him, check your sanity, or give in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-lafleur/when-a-stuffed-bear-asks-you-for-help-you-can-ignore-him-check-your/) [Suzanne LaFleur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-lafleur/) > [I say no when Dora asks for my help. THUG LIFE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-say-no-when-dora-asks-for-my-help-thug-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [...When someone asks me to help create a room my first reaction, if I do not already know the person, is to try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sister-parish/when-someone-asks-me-to-help-create-a-room-my-first-reaction-if-i-do/) [Sister Parish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sister-parish/) > [“Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby . . . Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/harry-potter-asks-if-he-can-help-dobby-dobby-has-heard-of-your/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) ## More by Gil Scott-Heron > [Oftentimes, the way it seems to be is that our artists in particular point themselves out as spokesmen for a certain constituency in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/oftentimes-the-way-it-seems-to-be-is-that-our-artists-in-particular/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [I was one of the first three black students to go to an all-white school in Tennessee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/i-was-one-of-the-first-three-black-students-to-go-to-an-all-white/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [A good poet feels what his community feels. Like if you stub your toe, the rest of your body hurts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/a-good-poet-feels-what-his-community-feels-like-if-you-stub-your-toe/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [I find it not just strange but almost ridiculous that people could take a song like the one I was doing and interpret it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/i-find-it-not-just-strange-but-almost-ridiculous-that-people-could/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [Womenfolk raised me and I was full-grown before I knew I came from a broken home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/womenfolk-raised-me-and-i-was-full-grown-before-i-knew-i-came-from-a/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [If you aren't having no fun, die, because you're running a worthless program, far as I'm concerned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/if-you-aren-t-having-no-fun-die-because-you-re-running-a-worthless/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [I have a novel that I can write. It's about three soldiers from Somalia. Some babies have been disappearing up on 144th Street, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/i-have-a-novel-that-i-can-write-it-s-about-three-soldiers-from/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [ I work hard at it \[delivery of lyrics\], just like I worked hard at getting my masters degree. It's not just something I sit… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/i-work-hard-at-it-delivery-of-lyrics-just-like-i-worked-hard-at/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [Your life has to consist of more than 'Black people should unite.' You hope they do, but not twenty-four hours a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/your-life-has-to-consist-of-more-than-black-people-should-unite-you/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [You should be able to do anything you can afford as an adult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/you-should-be-able-to-do-anything-you-can-afford-as-an-adult/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [You know what has made me the happiest I've ever been? Seeing my son and daughter graduate from college. More than wanting them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/you-know-what-has-made-me-the-happiest-i-ve-ever-been-seeing-my-son/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [I've always had questions about what it meant to be a protester, to be in the minority. Are the people who are trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/i-ve-always-had-questions-about-what-it-meant-to-be-a-protester-to-be/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [I was a piano player before I was a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/i-was-a-piano-player-before-i-was-a-poet/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [I cannot afford to watch Fox News.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/i-cannot-afford-to-watch-fox-news/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [I think a whole lot of stuff gets by people - I could name half a dozen groups that do songs that are openly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/i-think-a-whole-lot-of-stuff-gets-by-people-i-could-name-half-a-dozen/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) [Explore all 71 Gil Scott-Heron quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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