Reactivity

What do our online interactions and reactions reveal about our heart? In Reactivity, Paul David Tripp tells how the gospel transforms our actions and reactions. 

In just over 150 pages, this timely and helpful book is a treasure of wisdom and biblical application. Tripp uses 12 chapters to expose and combat the toxic sins that have come from our social media.

A Lifestyle of Grace

Tripp sets the stage in Chapter 1, sharing what has been normalized: (1) Emotionally driven responses, (2) anger-driven responses, (3) disrespectful responses, (4) self-righteous responses, (5) vengeful responses, (6) individualism, (7) the love of controversy, and (8) tribalism. Tripp has written a cohesive and comprehensive book on the present-day dangers of social media.

I was most moved in Chapter 4, where Tripp gives a call to a lifestyle of grace. He says that “God makes his invisible grace visible by sending people of grace to give grace to people who need grace.” I was motivated to be this type of person, especially when it comes to my social media interactions. To respond in grace is to be conformed to Christ, who demonstrates God’s grace toward us. This book is gospel-saturated, and biblically practical.

Presence and Rest

I was most interested in Chapters 5 and 6, where Tripp shows how our social media can give us false identities and glory. We must find our identity in being a child of God. Tripp calls it “glorious adopting grace.” This has purifying power over our online interactions. He reminds us that it the glory of God that should motivate us, and this eliminates our need for self-glory in social media. This book is worshipful, destroying our idols and putting God in his rightful place in our lives and over our social media.

This would make a great gift for pastors, parents, and teens who find themselves immersed in a dangerous digital culture. The book ends with a challenge to remember the presence of the Lord and to find our true rest in him. I am aware that my attitudes are often at odds with the gospel of grace. And I am resolved to temper my reactivity with the gospel — online and offline. 

I received a media copy of Reactivity and this is my honest review. Find more of my book reviews and follow Dive In, Dig Deep on Instagram - my account dedicated to Bibles and books to see the beauty of the Bible and the role of reading in the Christian life. To read all of my book reviews and to receive all of the free eBooks I find on the web, subscribe to my free newsletter.