Paid Forward in Full

A few months ago, I ran into a friend of mine, who I hadn’t seen in a while, and we decided to go get a beer. At the bar, he paid for my beer and when I reached for my wallet to settle my debt, he told me not to worry about it. I thanked him profusely. The very next night, I was with a different friend in a similar situation except in this scenario I paid for the beer. When this friend offered to pay me back I told him how only the night before that I had received a free beer from a different friend and that I was now paying it forward. He thanked me profusely.

Last night, I ran into the first friend again and, deciding to get another beer, he mentioned that it was my turn to get the beer since I owed him from last time. I let him know that this was not the case, as I had already paid the beer forward.

“Look,” I said. “I’m more than happy to buy you a beer and I don’t need you to pay me back for it, but I do need you to know that this is not an even steven situation. My previous debt, such as it was, was already karmically settled.”

“What do you mean?” he inquired.

“I paid it forward. The very next night after I saw you, I ran into another friend who was in need of a beer, so I bought him one.”

“I don’t see how that has anything to do with the beer I bought for you. It sounds like you just bought a beer for a friend as I did for you.”

“No, I specifically told him that I was paying it forward from the beer you had purchased for me the night before.”

“Well, hang on. I didn’t agree to that.”

“We didn’t agree to anything. You said not to worry about it.”

“Sure, but I feel like you did worry about it and then turned around and gave it to someone else, which is in violation of my original terms.”

“The way I see it, by being told not to worry about it, I was free to pay my debt in any way I saw fit and did so by paying it forward. And making the world a better place in the process I might add. Are you against paying things forward and spreading cheer and joy to your fellow humans?”

“I’m not against it, I just feel like I should get a say in the matter. It was my purchase after all.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” I conceded. “Well, do you want a beer or not?”

“I want the beer that is owed to me!” my friend said firmly.

“I told you, it’s too late. I paid it forward. Plus, how am I going to get the beer back from him? Even if it were fresh in his system, I assure you it is no longer beer and no longer potable.”

“I don’t physically mean the beer. I mean tell your friend that you unpay it forward. Rescind the forward payment and then buy me the beer that is owed to me.”

“You can’t just rescind something you already paid forward.”

“Why not?”

“It’s simply not done. It’s poor form. Imagine how I’ll look going back to my friend and telling him that the beer I bought him wasn’t paid forward, but is now owed to me even though I’ll never collect on it! It’s going to tarnish my reputation as an upstanding and altruistic citizen of the world. Not to mention, you won’t exactly come out of this smelling like roses, I’ll see to that!”

“What?! How dare you!”

“That’s right, I’ll tell my friend that you demanded that I rescind my forward payment. I’ll tell him that you have a callous indifference to the happiness and well-being of the community at large.”

“I do not have a callous indifference to the happiness and well-being of the community at large. I just want to be consulted before my deeds are paid forward!”

“That’s not the way he’ll see it.”

“Then let me talk to him. I’m sure he’ll see it my way.”

“Very well,” I said “I can try, but he’s not the most responsive texter.” As I began to get out my phone to craft the text, a thought occurred to me. “Hang on, what if my friend already paid it forward as well and bought someone else a beer?”

“What? Would he do that?” 

“There’s a decent chance he did. Would you demand he track down that person and rescind that forward payment as well? And what if that beer recipient also paid it forward? It’s been several months since the original payment, so who knows how many people could have received a beer from your initial kindness. Surely, that’s comforting to you.”

At this my friend was nonplussed. I could tell he was still a bit miffed, but I could also see he was genuinely touched by the idea that the beer he bought me is now traveling about the country, maybe even the world, spreading sweetness and light to all who received a cold one. However, after a few moments, his visage clouded again and he asked with a quiet brooding intensity, “Would you have bought him the beer anyway?”

“I’m sorry?” I responded.

“Would you have bought him a beer even if you didn’t have a beer to pay forward?”

“Well, sure, I’m not a monster and I have a modest but consistent income stream.”

“Would you have held him to buy you a beer at a later date?”

“Surely not.”

“So, why did you pay my beer forward?!” he exclaimed.

“I thought it would ease his mind to know that the beer was truly gratis and he wouldn’t have to look for an opportunity to return the favor.”

“But it’s not truly gratis. If someone pays something forward to you, you have to keep paying it forward.”

“That’s true, he did owe a beer to the world, but it’s also on his own timeline. Whenever he happens to have the opportunity to buy someone a beer he can seize on it in the moment. He doesn’t have to develop a plan or a time table to make sure this comes to fruition.”

“Hmpf,” said my friend dejectedly. “You still should have consulted with me before you paid it forward. What if I needed a beer in the future?”

“Well, if enough people start paying beers forward, then you’ll eventually get one of those paid forwarded beers.”

“What if I eventually get my own beer back? Does the chain end?”

“How would you ever even be able to determine if it was yours?”

“Well, this is another problem you’ve caused with your frivolous philanthropy! There’s no tracking. We’ve already lost the thread entirely.”

“You just keep paying the beer forward indefinitely until the end of time no matter what the lineage!”

I was getting a bit heated and I realized that the two of us had been arguing in a bar without beers this whole time. It was at this point the bartender demanded we buy something or get out.

“I’m ordering a beer for myself now,” I said to my friend as I placed my order with the bartender. “Do you want one as well?”

“Oh fine,” he sighed. “But I’m going to decide what I’m going to do with it.”

“Just drink it,” interjected the bartender.