The Berlin Wall

Read Time - 2 Minutes

It was – appropriately – a cloudy, gray, overcast day.  The year was 1988 and my wife and I were staring at the Berlin Wall as we prepared to cross into East Berlin as tourists.  There was a cold dampness in the air as we shuffled through the poorly lit streets of East Berlin to explore the few brightly lit shops that were open to tourists.  I felt a sense of relief – even freedom – when we crossed back into West Berlin.  A year later, in November of 1989, the wall was abruptly dismantled by Germans in celebration of political changes finally occurring after almost thirty years.

The fall of the Berlin wall was a triumph, culminating from years of pressure from the West for changes in the East.  Scripture tells us of another triumph, fulfilling two-thousand years of prophecy.  In Colossians 2:15 we read of Jesus: “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”  Through His triumph, Jesus bought freedom for the world (Mark 10:45) and will return in consummate victory one day (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

Until that day, as we tarry on this earth, we can be influences for good in this world.  There are businesses that make money from products or services that do not honor the Lord.  One investment approach is to invest directly in those companies and then be vocal shareholder activists in implementing change.  For most of us, however, that involves too much time and energy on our part. 

A strategic alternative is for us to invest in values-based mutual funds who then pick up the shareholder activism mantle on our behalf.  By putting pressure on businesses, we can corporately invoke positive change.  Just as the Berlin Wall eventually fell through political pressure, we can bring pressure on businesses to make changes for the good.

Doug Hanson, MBA

Wealth Advisor