Modern-day Idols

I have been slowly reading through the Bible (started sometime last year) in between Bible studies. Right now I'm plugging through Isaiah, which has always been an interesting and sometimes confusing book. The other day I was reading in chapter 44 and there's a section about man making idols (verses 6-23).

A carpenter cuts down a tree in a forest. He uses some of the tree for wood in his stove. The other part of the wood he uses to make an idol which he bows down to. God points out the ridiculousness of making something out of wood and then worshiping it and asking it to save you. How can someone think that something they created themselves could have any power of its own? It's like picking up a stick and asking it to help you find a job. People would think you're crazy!

At first, it may not seem like people today make things to worship, however some definitely worship man-made things like money and power and status. While there may not be a shrine in one's home to these things, they still can hold power over a person and be the reason why s/he work so hard or is willing to blur the lines at times. People may not see these things as gods or idols, but they certainly can be.

It makes me wonder, what do I spend my energy, time and money pursuing? Is it something created by this world or is it God?

Isaiah 44:24-26 : "This is what the Lord says - your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers."