Marsh woke up and went downstairs to the basement. At around three in the afternoon, Bermudez went to check on him, but he wasn\u2019t in front of the television. He had hanged himself near the washer and dryer. There was no note. I find myself quoting pastor and author Tim Keller perhaps a bit too often these days, but this tragic story reminds me of some wise words he has said about work: By all accounts Marsh was a very smart young attorney who had a bright future. He allowed a singular focus on career to become the entire locus of his identity, and when something went wrong it derailed him. This temptation to make an idol of career, to pin godlike hopes on it, is a common temptation, particularly in our culture. This is a tragic mistake. We are of course to work, and furthermore to \u201cwork as for the Lord\u201d, giving our best efforts, striving for excellence; work is a good thing, but we shouldn\u2019t let it become an ultimate thing. Our identity doesn\u2019t come from what we do: \u201cOur identity in Christ is received, not achieved.\u201d (Keller)<\/p>\n The article about Nicholas Marsh concludes:<\/p>\n \u2026 Although Marsh\u2019s reputation had suffered a severe and largely deserved fall for his actions in the Stevens case, skilled lawyers have rallied from far worse professional disasters. There is every reason to believe that he would have gone on to a distinguished career, and perhaps even to the judgeship he sought. But something in Marsh could not let the official system for discipline play out, and instead he imposed an unfathomably harsh punishment on himself. <\/em><\/p>\n
\nBermudez still lives in the home she shared with Marsh, and his voice still greets callers on the answering machine. \u201cI don\u2019t think I understood the depths of how the allegations affected him,\u201d she told me. \u201cHe took his duties and his ethical obligations very much to heart. Even thinking that his career would be over was just too much for him. The idea that someone thought he did something wrong was just too much to bear.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n
\nOne of the scary things to me about this whole approach is that the culture\u2019s approach weirdly enough is supposed to be liberating but it\u2019s actually quite crushing. \u2026 But today in our modern culture, your work becomes your identity. How much money becomes your identity. It\u2019s not just what you do but who you are! And that will crush you. <\/em> (sermon transcript available here<\/a>).<\/p>\n