I've always felt the word "cheat" was inaccurate for The Sims franchise. Google's definition of cheat:
cheat
/CHēt/Submit
verb
1.
act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game or examination.
"she always cheats at cards"
It doesn't really apply to The Sims as it's a life simulation with no set rules and no way to win or lose. There's nothing dishonest or unfair about using the developer's codes to play the way we want.
If I were participating in a challenge, I wouldn't use them, but I rarely do challenges. With my play style, I do use the "cheats" when I play.