Blessings and gifts from God

I'll summarize my current position on the matter. God gives different people different gifts/blessing in different amounts, and at different times. He then expects everyone, regardless of the level of blessing they receive, to have a heart for those in genuine need, and to love generously.

I don't think that "as long as you have more than other people, you are supposed to use (or give away) all extra resources until you no longer have more than other people". [But should I (we)?]
We should be thankful for what we have been blessed with (materially, or otherwise), and when presented with opportunities to help people, or use our resources (including TIME) for good, feelings rooted in our own "security" (or preserving our excessive living habits) should not be allowed to hold us back. And it's so easy, right? Yeah... uh-huh... Anyway, not only "when presented with opportunities"... but we need to continually be on the lookout for those opportunities, and be ready to make a difference in someone's life, even if it's just to listen to someone who doesn't have anyone to listen to them. We should be an example of kindness to everyone we interact with throughout the day/week/month/year.

If we give resources/time to people/causes, but are first thinking/calculating about how it affects us (or WILL affect us), and then give according to our calculations, are we not merely "giving out of our excess"? Our giving of "our" selves, and "our" time, and "our" resources... is supposed to be selfless (we shouldn't be thinking about us), and supposed to be sacrificial, and is supposed to be done cheerfully.

Maybe it's the "sacrificial" giving, and not just "giving out of your excess" that has been causing a hangup for me. I think that's what causes me to sometimes think "if most of us are living excessively, then that indicates that whatever we are giving to God (by giving, in some form, to those in genuine need) MUST be being given out of our excess, and is obviously not sacrificial" --right? -- How can it be sacrificial if we are still able to live excessively? If you don't think we live excessively, then some re-focusing may be in order.
I think I've heard that (on average) people in the Pacific Northwest are among the top 2% of the "richest" people in the world, in regards to average standard of living. If we are able to sustain excessive standards of living, how can our giving possibly be considered as REALLY being sacrificial?
Or am I being hung up on this too easily?

Maybe I'll just have to resign myself to the beginning of this blog posting, and that we shouldn't get hung up on particulars, but rather: 1) keep a heart full of thanksgiving for what we've been given, and what we're able to do; and 2) don't hesitate to dispense love generously (in one way or another) to people in genuine need. God wants us to enjoy the blessings he pours out to us, and yet we are also supposed to take care of others.

Is that TOO simple? TOO warm and fuzzy? Is that just taking the easy way out? Are any of the questions/points raised above worth discussing/thinking about?
Anyone? Anyone? ...Bueller?