Do We Worship Other Gods?

I've had a question pop into my head within the last couple weeks. I'm reading through the Bible in our Sunday school class and we just finished up Judges. One of the fascinating things that I saw was how many times the Israelites bowed down and worshipped other gods. Ashteroths and Baals were mentioned several times as well as the gods of the Moabites and Ammonites. This strikes me as a huge departure from the LORD God. I would never bow down to another god. That would be no difference than me praying to Allah or bowing to Buddha. Or would it?

Is there a difference between the foreign gods of Israel and the idols of America (money, sex, success, power)?

I don't know. I can't help feel that those gods are far worse than these gods. I know sometimes I trust my checking account more than god, but does that mean that I'm "bowing" down and worhsipping another. As a Christian, I'm pretty sure that they are and maybe it's just my view that I'm better than them, or at least not as bad. By the way, working on humbleness is a top priority of mine.

My wife did give me some interesting insight, though. We live in a different time than the Israelites. We live in a time after the coming of Jesus the Christ. He taught us to view things differently. He says that not committing adultry is simply not enough. If you even look at another woman sexually, you are guilty of this sin. He says that you should not commit murder; but Christ says that even more than this you should not have anger towards your brother. And the list goes on and on.

Maybe we are held to a higher standard. It sure does make me think that God might be implying something like the following: You have heard it said that you should not have any gods other than the LORD you God. But even more, do not let anything today come between you and your God. I'm not trying to try and put words into God's mouth, but this thought has been plaguing me this week.