I recently heard a comedian say that he was a vegetarian, but not a strict one - he still eats beef, pork, chicken, and fish.  I am not a vegetarian, but I believe the definition is a person who does not eat meat.  However, if such a person eats meat whether intentionally or unintentionally, I am pretty sure they are not removed from the vegetarian fellowship.

Here in 1 John, it says that we cannot claim to have fellowship with God and still walk in the darkness.  However, as you read on, you discover that we cannot claim to be without sin.  Let's face it - we all sin.  We try to fool each other and attempt to put on our mask of perfection, but we all know the truth.  However, sometimes we sin and can be tempted to throw on the towel and forget about trying to live the Christian life.  1 John 1 talks not about sinning, but about walking in sin - abiding in sin.  That means sin is more than the occasional blunder - it is the defining quality of our lives.

That being said, I come to another point.  Yes, none of us are perfect.  We know that we will only be perfect when we get to heaven.  Sadly, we can too easily use this as reason to become casual about our pursuit of holiness.  Notice what John goes on to say...