Unfortunately, the Illinois Leader article (like so many adultery-is-very-wrong articles in a similar vein) misses one very important point. That adultery causes terrible damage and is a scourge to all society is absolutely true - but it is just the manifestation of a bigger problem. The bigger problem is that mankind has gotten away from God and in so doing, has to a large extent trashed the basic rules and ideals about how man should live - in this case marriage. People forget that marriage was an institution designed by God for mature people to have sex in a way that was approved by him - outside of marriage, no sex of any type was allowed or approved of while inside of marriage, unlimited sex was approved of. Thus one could define marriage as 'a God approved license to have sex', nothing more and nothing less (how many people think of it in those terms today). Marriage was therefore treated much more seriously in the past and it was expected that both the husband and the wife going to the alter for the first time were virgins who had protected and saved themselves for their one and only partner (until death parted them). Our society has gotten away from the seriousness of this license and it all started when people decided that it wasn't important whether or not they engaged in premarital sex - and so we have people going to the alter that simply do not have the capacity to make and keep the commitment they need to because their previous entanglements have left their emotional loyalties weakened and fractured. The other aspect to treating the marriage vows seriously is that absolute fidelity was to be observed. Of course this meant no sex with anyone outside of the marriage but it also meant something else that is often overlooked. It was also just as important for the spouses to observe 'fidelity inside the marriage' - essentially this means that each was to make sure the other was so well satisfied sexually that he or she would never have the need to be tempted by anyone else. While adultery should be condemned and can't be justified under any conditions, in many (probably most) cases it is a byproduct of fidelity not being observed INSIDE the marriage. If people observed this level of seriousness and understanding of what their marriage vows were or should be all about, adultery would be far far less.
1 Corinthians 7:3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
I agree but it's not that relevant to the question. The decision to cheat, more often than not, seems like a real good idea at the time. A person's relationship with God is the last thing on a person's mind when a very attractive and willing person is offering fairly uncommitted sex.
I'm not pleased about that, but it's true.