“We humans are an odd species. We are capable of great sensitivity and compassion, yet we are also capable of terrible cruelty.” (Abbot Tryphon)
"...when the tongue is not submitted to God to be disciplined and purified, it will inevitably become a tool for sin. Our words may become a weapon to hurt our neighbor, by saying cruel things to them or by slandering them." (Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou)
"So long as we carry with us mere caricatures of other people it is easy to treat them cruelly. But once our blindness begins to lift we see the full person, the individual who carries pain and a desire to know love." (Father Spyridon Baily)
“Fear is one of the main sources of cruelty. But love conquers fear (1 John 4:18). We have to love people rightly to oppose cruelty. This requires sacrifice on our part since real healing Christ-like love is not merely emotional, it is sacrificial. Love without sacrifice is often nothing more than strong sentiment. To combat cruelty is to model Christ-like love and thus teach others how to love, especially young people, through example in addition to our words.” (Sacramental Living Blog)
"People who knew Mother Theresa of Calcutta often say how difficult she could be to be around, that she had no time for social niceties. This Roman Catholic nun lived a life of self-sacrifice caring for some of the poorest people on the planet. Her love was real and was inspired by her love for and obedience to God. We cannot substitute being nice for love." (Father Spyridon Baily)