I agree with your pastor. I give when and where I can, which is fairly often. I would rather give to a scammer nine times than let a kid go hungry one time. I also never want their kids to pay the price. I was a child in a poor family. We had two phone lines (in the 90s) and premium cable, but we ate plain rice as a meal 75% of the time. I got help to go on field trips and to have boots in the winter. I didn’t choose how my mom spent money, and I didn’t choose when and where she asked for help, but I was always grateful when I didn’t have to go to bed hungry.