Out-giving God

A phrase I have heard over the years is, 'You can't out-give God. If you give to God He will give back to you many times over.' I have tried to understand this seeming promise from the perspective of that part of the church that is living in poverty and suffering.
How does the hungry, destitute, persecuted believer on the run for his very life understand the promise in Mat 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you."? How do they understand what has been promised by the phrase 'these things' when they have nothing and have seen their loved ones die of starvation?
Are they just not seeking the kingdom of God and therefore this promise is not for them?
Or do they understand that the intent of the passage is not on the 'What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With what shall we be clothed?' but rather centers on the admonition given in 'Mat 6:20-21 But lay up treasures in Heaven for yourselves, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.'?
Have we made God one who deals in currency, in dollars and forgotten that His treasures are eternal?
Where is my heart today, this moment?

Wanderer101