Question
Why did Gandalf only use his magic powers against the Balrog in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring? Why not before? Could he have used that kind of firepower earlier to the Fellowship's benefit?
Answer
One of Tolkien's themes is the appropriate use of power, and in his universe, power comes from your inner nature. You cannot—or should not—obtain more power through any artificial system, because that just distorts your nature.
For example, we have Aragorn who usually prevails just by showing up and being all Aragorny. He doesn't make speeches, he just exudes this natural authority (or even semi-supernatural powers) that make people want to follow him. This is nobility, in Tolkien's view—some people are just born better. Others, like lesser men and Hobbits, have a lower status, but can play their roles with equal faithfulness to this principle.
So, what about Gandalf's power? If you read the supporting materials, you learn that he is really an angelic being clothed as a mortal. The Balrog is a being of the same order. So, in Tolkien's morality, Gandalf can reveal all of his power when in battle with an equal—the Balrog, or Saruman. In fact, when Gandalf gets his promotion to being the White, he has the natural authority to even cancel Saruman's power.
It would be immoral for Gandalf to use his power directly against lesser beings, even when that would do good. Instead, he must use his power more indirectly, to convince the people of Middle-Earth to unite.
Saruman is depicted as having succumbed to this temptation. Frustrated with the disunity among the peoples of Middle-Earth, he decided to create an artificial system that would be strong enough to defeat Sauron, namely his industrial revolution around Orthanc, yielding the abomination of the Uruk-Hai. And as he became interested in power for its own sake, he became a tool of Sauron.
I happened to read this here - Link
Answered By - user4840
