How to be Hated

When Jesus sends out His disciples he gives them some instructions, the last of which is what to do when they get arrested, flogged, and persecuted.

It's a side to following Jesus that I feel a million miles away from. Not only that, the word "persecution" gets thrown out a lot by Christians here in North America, but is it the same thing? Does being hated equal validation that we are following Christ well? Or, is there a right and wrong way to be hated as a Christian? I wrestle with these questions as a Canadian Christian in 2021. What does it really mean to be persecuted for Christ?