Sometimes, I feel tempted to distort Jesus’ words, to hear them as though they were spoken exclusively for me. While our relationship with God is eminently special and personal, it is easy to be prideful and forget that God extends the Gospel message to all of humanity. I have definitely experienced a sort of “main character” conceit before. We should be cautious not to read Scripture as though we are the “main character.” Striking the right balance between appreciating our special relationship with God and recognizing others’ equally special relationships is not always easy, but Jesus calls us to do so. Of course, Jesus’ words are a powerful affirmation for the truly persecuted, and everyone inevitably experiences some level of injustice at some point.