There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. 

-Ecclesiastes 8:14, NIV

The observation of the wicked prospering while the righteous are punished is not a new one.

That is what this verse from Ecclesiastes makes clear. A cheater appearing to prosper while a faithful spouse seems to be punished is a situation as old as the Old Testament.

Yet I would encourage you not to give in to cheater-envy.

The unrepentant cheater might have all the world has to offer. They may actually be prosperous the world sees it. Yet the Bible is clear the cheater is about to lose his or her soul (see I Corinthians 6:9-10).

So, what good is all that “gain” really?!

Also, I want to point out that faithful spouses have their character intact, whereas unrepentant cheaters do not.

This intangible “good” matters.

Personally, I would not want to be the sort of person who could so violate the closest person to me and move on without feeling compelled to make it right.

No relationship with that sort of person then is safe from betrayal. Their behavior has demonstrated that their selfish desires trump even the most sacred vows and closest relationship commitments.

That is not a person I envy. Pity, perhaps?! Envy, no.

Think on that the next time you feel tempted to envy your cold-hearted, unrepentant cheater.

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* A version of this post ran previously. And I get the temptation to envy them. But they cannot outrun themselves.