Justification and performance issues

Talking about Paul Washer has been a reminder of one thing his preaching has taught me, not to worry about "success" in the earthly sense of the word.
It's difficult to explain what i do with my life. I am constantly bombarded by "When are you going to get a REAL job?," "I don't see why you have to raise your salary yourself," "Just make sure you do something else when you finish your mDiv," "You left the toilet seat up AGAIN!"... and the list goes on.
James 2 contains a controversial verse about faith and works, but it basically shows that we are not saved by grace through a faith that would not produce good works. My problem comes when i feel i must be justify myself, at least to those around me, based on what i do. I've noticed this idea creeping up on me several times since i began working for a well-known organization. Sometimes ministers run themselves ragged because we aren't justified by grace, we're justified by our ministry. That is not good. Especially when our positions are generally not well-respected to begin with by society's standards.
I've felt an echo from Luke 12:4-5 that states "...do not fear those who kill the body...But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!" The thing that has hit me is that I am far too concerned about whether my InterVarsity co-workers or my students think i am doing a good job when i am speaking or teaching or at meetings. My test instead should be "Is this honoring to God? Is it proclaiming His glory and power to those who are listening?"
We get to a point where we are worried so much about what our supervisors think about our talks and presentations that we forget to serve the Living God with it. Maybe if we would more and more fix our eyes upon the light of Jesus and God's Word the things of this earth (including the respect and admiration of our peers and supervisors) would grow dim. If i believed in New Year's resolutions maybe that would be mine. I'll try it and see if i can practice it through the rest of this evening for starters.