Which of the following quotes best describes Tearfund?
‘The deepest need of men is not food and clothing and shelter, important as they are. It is God.’
or
‘It is impossible to comfort men’s hearts with the love of God when their feet are perishing with cold.’
Trick question. Both quotes (by Thomas R Kelly and William Booth respectively) highlight Tearfund’s dual nature – meeting physical and spiritual needs.
Flip sides of the same coin... or as the Bible puts it:
‘Suppose there are brothers and sisters who need clothes and don’t have enough to eat. What good is there in your saying to them, "God bless you! Keep warm and well!" – if you don’t give them the necessities of life? So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead.’
James 2:15-17, Good News Bible.
How is this type of faith expressed? A story from tsunami-devastated India gives us some insight:
A man has lost his wife and home to the freak wave. A well-meaning businessman hears about the many bereaved people in the locality and tries to help by arranging marriages. As a result, this widower remarries within three months of the tsunami.
Nine months on, he is interviewed by Tearfund's Tim Hamilton, who is in the region with a film crew to collect material for a post-tsunami DVD. Tim recalls the poignant conversation that took place.
‘The man was clearly still traumatised and said within earshot of his new wife: “I’m so sorry I still miss my wife. I wish I hadn’t married again.”
‘If I do not love the people and hold them in my heart, how can I help them properly and act as God’s witness?’ Eficor relief worker Tomy Kuriakeose.
‘Providing him with a permanent home and a restored livelihood obviously wasn’t enough. He had much deeper needs. And I could see that the local project worker was spending lots of time counselling him – helping him come to terms with his bereavement.
‘A simplistic person would say you need the love of Jesus in your life to heal your wounds, but actually that approach with traumatised people would be completely inappropriate – like handing out rice and Bibles. Also this was a Muslim community and our partner Eficor would be kicked out of the area if the government thought that vulnerable people were being proselytised.
‘For Tearfund and for me personally, it’s really important that our partners are Christians motivated by compassion and faith in Christ – but with no other agenda. It’s about being highly sensitive culturally and spiritually – not blundering in with good intentions. And of course unconditional love always has a long-term spiritual impact.’
Eficor relief worker Tomy Kuriakeose says: ‘If I do not love the people and hold them in my heart, how can I help them properly and act as God’s witness?’
Tearfund’s post-tsunami video The Road Ahead has been nominated for several international awards.