The Lord told Ezekiel that the desire of his eyes, his wife, would die, and that when she did, he was not to show any signs of mourning (Ezekiel 24.15–17). Then Ezekiel explained,

So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded (Ezekiel 24.18).

Ezekiel did not live for himself, but for the Lord and for His people. Therefore, the prophet complied with the Lord’s wishes.

The people wanted to know the reason for Ezekiel’s behavior, his lack of mourning for his wife, whom he loved (Ezekiel 24.19).

He explained that the Lord would take away the desire of the eyes of the Jews, the temple in which they trusted. The attack from the Babylonians would be so bad that the Jews would not even mourn the destruction of the temple, even as Ezekiel did not mourn the passing of his wife (Ezekiel 24.20–24).

While we can enjoy the things of this Earth, we cannot make them more delightful to our eyes than serving our God.