Remember this: without God and what God has done for us in Christ, nothing of who we are matters at all.
– Fr. Steve Grunow (source)
This quote sheds some light on one of our root sins, pride, that desire to be worthy based on our own existence-being-purpose-meaning, independent of God. That independence from God, as if we had a say in our own being, as if we could even exist if God did not exist, as if we could be happy alone separate from God, as if…
The saints talk about humility as the antidote to pride, or in other words, an acceptance of our complete dependence on God. Other saints speak in terms of submission, but this word grates on modern ears. This submission to God is not a loss of freedom; it is an acceptance of the reality of the situation, not the false illusion perpetrated by pride. Maybe this is further insight into when Scripture says to be aware, wake up.