“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.’”
(Genesis 17:1 NIV)
The Hebrew word translated “blameless” is tamim (תָּמִים), pronounced tah-MEEM. At first glance, it may sound like it refers to moral perfection, but it’s actually a term that means “whole” or “complete,” describing a life that is undivided in its devotion to God.
When God spoke these words to Abram, thirteen years had passed since the promise of a son. Thirteen long years of silence. Thirteen years of waiting and wondering. During that time, Abram tried to help God along, resulting in the birth of Ishmael through Hagar. Now God appears again, not to scold Abram for his weak faith, but to invite him to walk before God and be tamim.
God doesn’t demand sinless perfection from this man who clearly struggled with doubt. Instead, He calls for something perhaps just as challenging — wholehearted devotion.
The call to be tamim isn’t about never making mistakes. If it were, Abram would have been disqualified (and so would we!). Rather, it’s about the orientation of our hearts. Are we walking before God, constantly aware of His presence? Are we living with integrity, acting the same in private as we do in public? Do we offer God our whole lives, or do we keep our faith confined to a couple of hours on Sunday morning? For Abram, being tamim meant staying committed to God even in the midst of his uncertainty. It wasn’t about perfect performance, but about sincere loyalty.
That ancient word still speaks to us today. We live in a world of divided attention and divided loyalties. Work, family, screens, and constant noise all pull at our hearts. God’s invitation remains the same: “Walk before me and be tamim.”
What does that look like? It’s choosing honesty when cutting corners would be easier. It’s remaining faithful in those moments when no one is watching. It’s trusting God’s timing instead of forcing our own agenda. It’s giving our whole selves to God rather than dividing our lives into sacred and secular spaces.
Walking blamelessly doesn’t mean walking perfectly. It means walking wholly. It’s the difference between a heart that’s split in two directions and a heart that, even with questions, stays turned toward God. Abraham still had doubts. He even laughed at God’s promise. But he kept walking forward with God, and God counted it to him as righteousness.
Today, God offers the same invitation that He gave Abraham. Bring your whole heart, even the doubting and struggling parts. Stop dividing your life into what you’ll trust God with and what you insist on handling yourself. Live with integrity, aware of God’s presence in every moment.
Walk with God. Be whole. Be tamim.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are the Almighty God who calls us to walk before You with undivided hearts. Teach us to surrender every part of our lives to You, especially those parts where we’ve held back or tried to maintain control. Help us to give You our wholehearted devotion. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Alan Smith
Reprinted with permission from Alan Smith’s Thought For the Day