Evil Ambitions
1 One day Gideon’s son Abimelech went to Shechem to visit his uncles—his mother’s brothers. He said to them and to the rest of his mother’s family, 2 “Ask the leading citizens of Shechem whether they want to be ruled by all seventy of Gideon’s sons or by one man. And remember that I am your own flesh and blood!” 3 So Abimelech’s uncles gave his message to all the citizens of Shechem on his behalf. And after listening to this proposal, the people of Shechem decided in favor of Abimelech because he was their relative. 4 They gave him seventy silver coins from the temple of Baal-berith, which he used to hire some reckless troublemakers who agreed to follow him. 5 He went to his father’s home at Ophrah, and there, on one stone, they killed all seventy of his half brothers, the sons of Gideon. But the youngest brother, Jotham, escaped and hid.
Judges 9:1-5 NLT
These verses take place right after Gideon dies. Gideon's son Abimelech convinces the leading citizens of Shechem to approve of his plan to kill his 70 step brothers, by insinuating that they didn't have Shechem's best interest in mind. As a result Abimelech was given money to hire men and make their concern go away; even though there was no evidence that the 70 brothers were actually conspiring against Shechem. The result was that Abimelech became Israel's first king, which was likely his goal all along. However, fast forward to later part of this chapter, and you will discover that God kills both Abimelech and the leading citizens of Shechem for their evils.
Money itself isn't good or bad. It's what's done with money that is good or bad. The people of Shechem gave their money to an evil cause, and Abimelech used the money to accomplish the evil cause.