Approaching Mercy to the Poor

I'm now finishing another book I started before the semester. Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road by Tim Keller. This book is very challenging and it is humbling me...but here's a quick quote that I thought was instructive regarding the simplistic approach to poverty that many conservatives and liberals take.

At first, we must witness to the free love of Christ in our mercy. But at some point, we must call the whole person to Christ. Very, very often, it is the needy person himself who then removes himself from your aid. We must strive to maintain this balance. The problem with "conservatives" is that they tend to establish conditions immediately, denying mercy to people who are living unrighteously. By contrast, "liberals" may never attach conditions to further aid. [pp. 98]

Any thoughts?