Does God's Power Make Him Unapproachable?

Should God's power cause us to fear him? We must answer both yes and no. Yes, in that this attribute gives us ample reason for Godly fear, the profound awe and respect we discussed briefly in the preceding chapter. Such fear, the Bible tells us, is "the beginning of wisdom." (Psalm 111:10) We also answer no, however, in that God's power gives us no reason to feel morbid dread of him or to shy away from approaching him.

Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely." So wrote an English nobleman Lord Acton in 1887. His statement has often been repeated, perhaps because so many people see it as undeniably true. Imperfect humans often abuse power, as history has confirmed again and again. (Ecclesiastes 4:1; 8:9) For this reason, many mistrust the powerful and withdraw from them. Now Jehovah has absolute power. Has it corrupted him in any way? Certainly not! As we have seen, he is holy, utterly incorruptible. Jehovah is unlike the imperfect men and women of power in this corrupt world. He has never abused his power, and he never will.

Remember, power is not Jehovah's sole attribute. We have yet to study his justice, his wisdom and his love. But we should not assume that Jehovah's attributes come to the fore in a rigid, mechanical manner, as if he exercised only one quality at at time. On the contrary, we will see in the ensuing chapters that Jehovah always exercises his power in harmony with his justice, his wisdom and his love. Think about another quality that God possesses, one that is rarely present worldly rulers - self restraint.

Next time: Conclusion of Does God's Power Make Him Unapproachable?

Draw Close To Jehovah, 2002