In "Word Focus" Glenn McClure writes:

Clearly the key word in the text from 1 Peter 2 is the often-maligned word submit. A quick survey of its forty-one occurrences in the New Testament will show what a key concept submission is in the entirety of the Christian life. It was an attitude that Jesus modeled for us by submitting to His parents (Luke 2:51). Hupotasso is a military term that suggests order and arrangement. It does not imply surrender, but a plan of attack. Jowett states that submission “is not the bending of reeds but the devotion of giants” (The Epistles of St. Peter). In support of that idea is the fact that to submit is consistent with and parallel to “honor” (v. 17). When we fail to submit, we are not only “out of line,” but we are also an embarrassment to the entire unit, and especially to the one who is in charge.

Source: Building Christian Relationships: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 76.