Truth matters

This discussion has ignited the zeal (good and bad) of some and is revealing the positions of many.

1. Why do we defend people before defending the truth? Which is more valuable in God's eyes: His name and the truth, or men? Are they always/never/sometimes mutually exclusive?
   
2. Jesus said He is the truth, and so when we suggest the truth matters, but not enough to separate people, we must then ask if we're also saying that not standing with Jesus and thus opposing Him would result from standing with men who teach what Jesus did not and especially teach that which Jesus opposed.
3. If facts about one's teaching have already presented themselves from which a man will not separate himself, shouldn't that be admitted evidence that what a man will teach about on the same subject can be surmised until proven contrary? If not, why not?
   

Who

A man is small, weak, and wears out like a garment.
His bones break, his skin sags, and his eyes fail.
Sound eludes him, the earth shakes him, life flees him.
Gone is his vigor, his insight, his power.
Death approaches, the sun sets, man's love fades.

God is great, strong, and eternal.
He is Spirit, He is from everlasting to everlasting, and He knows all.
He hears all, He is God and there is no other, He is life.
He strengthens the faint and weary with infinite supply, wisdom is His whose power is abundant.
He has approached death and done away with it, and He deals justly with this creation, as He makes all things new.
His love endures forever