Another way of saying “filthy lucre,” as used in the New International Version translation of the bible, is “dishonest gain” (I Timothy 3:8; Titus 1:7, 11).
It is also referred to in the NIV as “greedy for money” (I Timothy 3:3; I “Peter” 5:2).
Another, often more apt, way of putting it in more modern vernacular would be: “blood money.”
In short, anything that money can be used for that violates the law, in particular the Creator’s Law and Commandments, such as by using gold and silver to create idols to worship, would be one such misuse of money that makes it’s use into an abomination.
That is why Moses, when he melted down the golden calf idol the Ya’sar’elites made at Mount Horeb, scattered the gold dust into the water and forced the Ya’sar’elites to drink it (Exodus 32:20), as a sign that their rebellion against Creator Yahveh was a part of their inner sinful nature.
A prime example of how money can be turned to illicit, unlawful use is found in the sons of the prophet Samvel (“Samuel”), who were appointed as judges over the ancient nation of Ya’sar’el.
Scripture reveals:
“But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice” (I “Samuel” 8:3).
Another example is when gold and silver are used to build any sort of idols and worshiping them (“Hosea” 8:4, 13:2; Habakkuk 2:19; Revelation 9:20).
Money also becomes “filthy lucre” when it is used to impoverish or enslave the poor (“Amos” 2:6, 8:6), or when it is used as a reward or bribe to arrest and try an innocent man, as the betrayer did to the Savior (Zechariah 11:12-13; “Matthew” 27:33-10).
Who Then Can Be Saved?
Caring for money, all by itself, as a means to an end -- or just for the sake of calling yourself rich by hoarding as much of it as possible -- can also be termed “ill-gotten” because this is a form of idolatry, which is worshiping anything in place of, or as more important than, the Creator of heaven and earth:
“For the concern for money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the belief and pierced themselves with many griefs” (I Timothy 6:10).
This can certainly make it nearly impossible for those who call themselves rich to sacrifice for the sake of those who are needy and unable to cope for themselves -- such as the injured, blind, lame, strangers at a disadvantage in a foreign country, widows, orphans, priests or Levites of Yahveh (“Matthew” 19:16-25).
However this does not, in and of itself, mean that money itself is evil or to be avoided like the plague. Notice:
“When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’
“Yahvsave looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with the Almighty One all things are possible’” (“Matthew” 19:25-26).
What seemed so impossible?
To translate what the Savior said more perfectly, according to the Aramaic version of this same scripture (from the Eastern Orthodox Peshitta translation text), He had said:
“‘I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a rope to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of the Almighty One’” (verses 23-24; bold face emphasis added).
The word in Aramaic for “rope” is also the same word used for “camel,” and the Greek translators, and English translators after them, simply used the wrong word in conveying this metaphor to their understandably confused readers.
It actually is possible for a rope to go through the eye of a needle, once it is unraveled down to single threads, with each thread going through the eye by itself, while woven together these threads are much too thick and impossible to fit through the needle’s eye!
Rich In Responsibility
So filthy lucre is more than just money, it is the greed for gain combined with a lack of compassion for those not in a similar position to make the sort of choices the rich can afford to make.
Those who are "rich" in this world's eyes, who unwisely choose to be less than generous, helpful, courteous, kind, benevolent and constructive, have given in to the lure of filthy lucre.
Filthy lucre, therefore, is more a frame of mind and a spiritual intention that turns money, an otherwise necessity of life, into a force for great evil in the world, at the hands of those who have failed to grasp the purpose and responsibility for the blessings of wealth they have been given.
For all that the world is and has belongs, first and foremost, to the Creator who made it, and we are all stewards of His property, for good or ill, depending solely on how we handle and make use of those blessings.
To ungenerously hoard and think of amounts of such resources as our sole value or worth is to miss entirely the true purpose for life, which is to grow into a caring, responsible and generous individual who helps as many others gain and enjoy a level of prosperity they would not be able to attain otherwise.
It is also the duty of those with the means to set the example for others, in following the Creator's will more perfectly, rather than misleading them into idolatrous, harmful, destructive paths of suffering, violence, and poverty.