Most of the definitions for "commit" show that we generally commit (to) someTHING; an action, idea, thought, position, or belief. Even #1 & #5 below refer to entrusting but with no responsibility from the one who is doing the entrusting.
Commit:
1. to give in trust or charge; consign.
2. to consign for preservation: to commit ideas to writing; to commit a poem to memory.
3. to pledge (oneself) to a position on an issue or question; express (one's intention, feeling, etc.): Asked if he was a candidate, he refused to commit himself.
4. to bind or obligate, as by pledge or assurance; pledge: to commit oneself to a promise; to be committed to a course of action.
5. to entrust, esp. for safekeeping; commend: to commit one's soul to God.
6. to do; perform; perpetrate: to commit murder; to commit an error.
7. to consign to custody: to commit a delinquent to a reformatory.
8. to place in a mental institution or hospital by or as if by legal authority: He was committed on the certificate of two psychiatrists.
9. to deliver for treatment, disposal, etc.; relegate: to commit a manuscript to the flames.
10. to send into a battle: The commander has committed all his troops to the front lines.
11. Parliamentary Procedure. to refer (a bill or the like) to a committee for consideration. –verb (used without object)
12. to pledge or engage oneself: an athlete who commits to the highest standards.
The definitions for "submit" show that we submit to someONE. We yield to the authority, power, treatment, influence, or approval of another.
Submit:
1. to give over or yield to the power or authority of another (often used reflexively).
2. to subject to some kind of treatment or influence.
3. to present for the approval, consideration, or decision of another or others: to submit a plan; to submit an application.
4. to state or urge with deference; suggest or propose (usually fol. by a clause): I submit that full proof should be required. –verb (used without object)
5. to yield oneself to the power or authority of another: to submit to a conqueror.
6. to allow oneself to be subjected to some kind of treatment: to submit to chemotherapy.
7. to defer to another's judgment, opinion, decision, etc.: I submit to your superior judgment.
I think that often we have a misconception of the definitions and are committed to the things of Christ without being submitted to His authority over our lives. I'm working on being more fully submitted. What about you? Are you more committed than submitted?
