SSA is the short form of Same Sex Attraction...
Yes, as a christian - how should we view about SSA within christian community?
Do you have dear friends that are struggling with SSA or as a parents, you know one of your children are struggling with SSA? As Christians, does the Bible teach us to criticise people struggling with SSA or vice versa? To criticise or sympathise? SSA is a highly sensitive topic indeed, especially in christian community perhaps.
In the world, non-believers would simply despise or accept those struggling with SSA. Non-believers might affirm their state as they were born to be so. People struggling with SSA might receive less critics from the no-believers than Christians. Don't be surprised about this. Why is that so?
Yes, good to ask the 'Why' question..
How many people in church would have the boldness to admit that they are actually struggling with SSA? And how open would the church be, to hear about this confession of struggle? Struggle is struggle and only when the person act it out, it become 'sin' in his or her life. Not to mention about SSA, we all struggle with many things in life -- would that be the struggle of earning more and more, never feel satisfied with God's provision; the struggle of selfishness; the struggle of drinking too much wine; the struggle of getting entangled in your past mistakes and thoughts...
God can understand all our struggles, He is not there to condemn any of us. If He did want to condemn us, no one can survive long ago. If God was among us physically, how would God look at the person who's struggling with SSA. Would God be the one throwing a stone at that person and what do you think that God would react or respond to that person who is struggling???
Our response/reaction to those struggling with SSA must be align with God's response. If we say that we are His people, His disciples. We shall react, response like His followers.
More so, many people (you and me included) had suffered much since childhood, feeling neglected by loved ones, feeling unloved and unworthy...all sort of negative feeling and emotions being buried since young age and we grew up thinking we can handle all things our ways (when we didn't know God), we buried those past hurts and wounds and made ourselves as strong as we could be, pretending to be someone we are not. We lack the courage to face the REAL us. Until, and only until we get to know the love of God, our veiled mask started to come off, our true self is revealed and protected by the love of God. Same sex attraction is indeed quite common to all, don't be surprised.
We yearn for something we do not have, We want something we don't have in our life.
When we feel that we are ugly, we tend to admire those around us because in our eyes, we are the ugliest, so whoever comes to us, they are prettier than us. When we are so low in our emotional state, we might yearn for and admire some of the people around us and we might have a sense of excitement seeing them around us too. When one has a positive outlook in life and in themselves, we look not to others for what we don't have, we will be content to be ourselves. More so, if we know the love of God, the love of God will uplift our self image, we will know that we are worthy to be loved and we are highly valued as the son/daughter of the most high God. We will not fancy about others, we will learn to admire ourselves as one that God created, God called His creation 'BEAUTIFUL'. That creation included all humanity, we are all BEAUTIFUL in the eyes of God, we need to affirm this, we need to acknowledge this. We need not let other things in the world to define us. GOD is the only one to define His creation, God is our definition!!! Amen.
That feeling, you can class it as SSA. But remember, it is a feeling toward someone in the same sex. When you acted out in a sexual way -- we would call it 'having homosexual tendency' or being named as a 'homosexual'.
We all can have different feelings/emotions at different times in our lives. Feeling can come and go so many times. One moment, I can feel so down, another moment, I can feel great again. Feeling is feeling -- it is like a roller coaster ride. It is also normal to everyone. You are not the only one struggling with the roller coaster ride. Your feeling about yourself might not be ACCURATE. Your feeling about yourself can be fake!!!!
I have more to say about SSA.
Do come back and read more...
Here I found a useful article on SSA from a church's perspective. Have a read:
https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/blogs/breaking-free/homosexuality-and-same-sex-attraction-ssa