Oddly enough, we found that cheaters usually win and winners usually cheat." The proof cited is that cheaters have higher GPA's than non-cheaters.

Duh. If I copy test answers from the textbook or hide them in my cell phone, my test scores will be higher on average than those of students who studied honestly and took the test based upon their own knowledge.

Unfortunately, this perspective is quite myopic. Nobody doubts that cheaters win in the short run; the question is whether they prevail in the long run. Or to ask the question another way: In general, do those who lack integrity have an easier time in life than those who maintain it?

In many (not all) instances, cheaters lose quite decidedly. Their spouses discover the affair. Their bosses discover their poor work ethic is being covered by excuses and lies. Their friends figure out they cannot be trusted. The law finally catches up with them. Those instances are sufficient examples to keep many people committed to the principles of honesty.

However, there are instances in which cheaters do seem to win in the long run. They grow rich and gain fame or worldwide respect in spite of, or perhaps even because of their lack of integrity.

Interestingly, the Scripture discusses this very phenomenon quite openly. In Psalm 73, for example, Asaph laments how the wicked seem to grow rich and fat as a result of their sin. He questions God's justice and righteousness.

But the end of the Psalm is quite different from the beginning: "When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight until I came to the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; you cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form."

In other words, judgment is coming. It may not be today, tomorrow, or even when they are old men, but it is on its way.

If we believe that God's judgment is real, then those of us who minister to students do well to remind them of the eternal perspective. Cheaters may win in the short run, but it never pays off in eternity.