Can good grow in the world, or is the balance of good and evil fixed?

Good can grow. God has given human beings the freedom to choose so that they can rise ever higher, and every good decision shapes the soul.

God is good, and so He did not create evil. But He wanted to give human beings the chance to develop further and rise ever higher. That was only possible by leaving them a choice. A being without choice would be like an animal simply following its instincts. It could neither earn a reward nor grow beyond itself.

That is why conscious decision making lies at the heart of being human. The first verse above says that God has shown man both ways. With every decision an inner voice also speaks up, warning that the choice may be right or wrong. So each person is responsible for what they choose.

Here something remarkable can be observed. Almost always we know inwardly that the harder decision is the better one, and that the easy one harms us. Just look at an ordinary day with this in mind. You will be amazed at how often you face such small decisions.

It is exactly these many decisions that shape the soul. Whoever chooses the harder and better course again and again becomes a different person. The second verse above calls such a person successful. So the balance of good and evil is not fixed. It changes with every choice people make.

The third verse above describes how a good word grows like a tree, with firm roots and branches reaching into the heavens. In the same way good can grow in the world when people choose it day after day.