Before we launch into the flood story, it’s very important to understand the theology of “Creational intent” aka “God’s original purpose” aka “God’s will.” We’re going to run into people, for the rest of the Bible, doing awful things that don’t represent what God originally wanted for us and usually, nothing is said one way or the other about whether they were right or wrong. That can make Bible study very confusing for kids. Studying creational intent is how we can keep people from feeling like they have to make excuses for what everyone in the Bible was doing—things like slavery which we all know is terribly wrong. By teaching kids to look backward to the Garden where all relationships were once healthy and good, we can give them the critical thinking skills to learn to live lives more reflective of God’s plans in creating us in the first place.