Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 7, Verse 23

But the fruit accruing to these men of little understanding is limited. The worshippers of the Devas go to the Devas; My devotees too come to Me.

The real difference between these two paths isn't whether they work, it's how long what they deliver actually lasts.

This doesn't say the other path fails, it says it's temporary. Real results either way, but one leads somewhere lasting and the other, however genuine in the moment, is described as eventually running its course.