Loving My "Huggable and Buggable" Neighbor


Jesus’ command, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” deals with the challenge of treating ordinary, imperfect people with the care I instinctively want for myself. The central lesson, as reflected in the Peanuts strip, is that love must make room for people who are both lovable and irritating.

Spiritual truths

  • People are mixed, not simple. In the strip, Lucy admits that Snoopy sometimes “bugs” her but sometimes makes her want to hug him; Snoopy answers, “That’s the way I am … huggable and buggable.” The humor recognizes that we all have qualities others may enjoy and qualities they may find difficult. Loving a neighbor means seeing the whole person rather than reducing them to their worst moments.

  • Love is tested by irritation. It is relatively easy to be affectionate when someone pleases us. The harder spiritual task is to remain patient and kind when another person frustrates us. The strip’s joke gently exposes the gap between admiring the idea of people and accepting real people close at hand.

  • The command is practical, not merely sentimental. “As yourself” points toward treating another person’s needs and dignity as seriously as our own. In Christian teaching, love of neighbor is tied to love of God and expressed in conduct that does no harm.

  • Human flaws call for grace, not idealization. Peanuts is a parable: familiar comic situations turn us back toward our own lives and help us recognize human frailty. The point is not that people are always admirable, but that they remain worthy of patience and concern.

  • Our response to difficult people can shape us. A modern sermon applying the same Snoopy strip observes that relationships can hurt, yet responding with love rather than withdrawal can foster spiritual growth. 

A way to apply it

When someone irritates you, try asking: What would I hope someone would notice or forgive in me if I were acting this way? That question doesn’t require approving of hurtful behavior; it helps keep correction, boundaries, and compassion from becoming contempt.

In short: God invites me to love actual neighbors—not idealized ones—by accepting their mixed nature and choosing care even when affection does not come easily.

My Notes from Robert L. Short's chapter "You Shall GOD Your Neighbor as Yourself” in his book The Parables of Peanuts

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