What does it mean to empty yourself to follow Christ?

I asked the bishop about his elder, and he shared this. Before he left to tell his father he wanted to dedicate himself to monasticism, they read the Gospel passage of the rich young man, whom Christ told, go sell whatever you have and follow me, and who left sad because he was rich. His elder said to him, we are all rich in something. Someone could be rich as an academic, rich in popularity, rich in a high position over many people, and of course rich in money.

If we make that the center of our existence, we can't follow Christ. Christ says: whoever wants to follow me, deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. Three different things. Judas took up his cross and followed Christ in the sense that he was part of the persecuted group, but he forgot to deny himself. And people who follow Christ without denying themselves become dangerous for the church.

Humility is not doing humble-looking acts. It is about being empty. The Theotokos was empty: when Gabriel told her she would become the Mother of God, she didn't say, that's too big a thing, I must be humble and refuse. She was empty, she accepted, and God glorified her. Here is the maiden of my Lord, do as you wish. To follow Christ, we have to empty ourselves.

And I'll add what struck me about his elder: he spoke in such a way that it was as if the Holy Spirit was cosigning what he said. He didn't speak in ideas or psychology. He spoke into your heart.